Bits and Pieces
by impoeia
Summary: "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." - Robert Brault...A series of drabbles featuring little moments and realizations in the lives of various characters from Inuyasha.
1. Chapter 1: Kanna

I don't own a darn thing. _Inuyasha _and everything affiliated with it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I am merely letting my imagination run wild.

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**Shell**

When she was in the presence of others, Kanna was what they needed her to be.

For Naraku, she was an instrument; his eyes and ears in a world he wished to rule and consume. She was his spy and captured images within her mirror for him to peruse and glut himself on. She was his window, through which he could gaze unto a humanity he had rejected as weak and yet, which defeated him at almost every turn.

When accompanying Kagura, Kanna was a silent wall against which the wind demoness could rave and rant. She would listen to her 'sister's' complaints, her dreams and ambitions and pass no judgment. It was not required of her.

It was only when she was alone, devoid of the company of others, that Kanna was truly herself. With her feet tucked neatly beneath her and gazing into her empty mirror, Kanna was no longer the reflection of other peoples need. She was an empty shell; a blank verse and she preferred it this way. There was peace in this state of being, a state that required nothing, because she required nothing. Alone, she would sit and stare at the reflection in her mirror, watching her own blank gaze look back at her; an endless void reflected into eternity.


	2. Chapter 2: Rin & Sesshoumaru

I can't believe I have to say this for every chapter, but here goes. I don't own anything.

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**Not There**

Having managed to catch up to Lord Sesshoumaru, Rin attempted to lengthen her stride so as to stay by the demon's side. She didn't quite manage and ended up having to add a little hop to every step she took in order to keep up.

Rin reached out one small hand to grasp the clawed hand of the demon lord….and grasped only empty air. She had forgotten that Lord Sesshoumaru did, in fact, only have one hand to grasp and had come up on his left side. The side, where only an empty sleeve billowed in the slight breeze.

Rin stared for a moment and in her astonishment Sesshoumaru passed her by. The tall demon took two, then three steps, then stopped and turned halfway around to look back at her.

"Rin." Her name on his tongue was neither question nor command, merely a simple acknowledgement of her presence.

Rin gave him a toothy smile and bolted after him, Jaken and Ah-Un left behind in her wake. It didn't matter that Lord Sesshoumaru only had one arm. He never acknowledged its absence and therefore, it was not worthy of attention or further thought. But he acknowledged her and the feeling of importance and joy his attention gave her, made her laugh into the bright summer's day.


	3. Chapter 3: Izayoi & Inu no Taisho

*Sigh* Still don't own a thing.

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**Forbidden**

As a demon lord and ruler of the Western Lands, to love a human should have been out of the question for him. The very concept of love should have been beyond him, in fact. His kind was supposed to have transcended such baser emotions long ago. They were a sign of weakness, of the heart ruling over the mind and a vulnerability in battle.

But the shameful truth was that he, Inu no Taisho, did feel love and he did love a human: this tiny, weak and mortal creature. Izayoi was at least a princess among her kind, though her elevated status among humans would leave only the tiniest of impression upon those of his kind. She was also beautiful, as beautiful as many a demoness and other high-ranking demons would assume this to be the main cause of his transgression.

Beauty was something a demon could understand. Inu no Taisho watched as his human princess made her stealthy way from her room, across the garden and towards their secret meeting place. In the moonlight, she was ephemeral and yes, her beauty had been what had attracted him first.

But there was more than beauty to Izayoi and it was these qualities that had captured his heart and bound him to her as surely as a prisoner would be, if manacled to a stone wall. She would bring him to an early grave, no doubt. But for his forbidden love, he was willing to pay that price. It was just too sweet a feeling to give up on, simply for the sake of propriety.


	4. Chapter 4: Kagome & Mom

Rumiko Takahashi is the only one with a legal claim to _Inuyasha. _

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**Love Letter**

"Oi, Kagome. Got any more of that ramen?"

Kagome threw Inuyasha an exasperated look, muttering under her breath about gluttonous dogs, but she dutifully began to rummage through her large yellow backpack.

_I can't remember whether or not I bought extra, _she thought, as she started to take out things from her pack and threw them into an ever-growing pile next to her. _I think I did. I know I meant to, but…_

She gave a shout of triumph as her hand encountered the distinctive feel of a pack of instant ramen. Pulling it out of the depths of her pack, Kagome brandished her prize in front of Inuyasha.

"Got it," she said, then stopped as she noticed a piece of paper taped to the side of the pack of ramen.

Saving the folded piece of paper from Inuyasha's impatient hand, Kagome unfolded the note and saw her mother's distinctive handwriting.

"_Kagome dear,_

_I packed you some extra ramen, just in case. I remembered you mentioning needing to bring more for Inuyasha. I thought that, since you were so busy with trying to catch up on your schoolwork, I could relieve you of that worry at least. _

_Love, mom." _

"Oi wench, what's with the waterworks?" asked Inuyasha in-between bites of ramen. He would never admit it of course, but the sight of Kagome's tears alarmed him.

Kagome wiped at her eyes, then shook her head, a soft smile playing around her lips.

"It's nothing Inuyasha. I just remembered that I have the best mom in the whole wide world."


	5. Chapter 5: Kaede & Kikyo

As this is fanfiction, it means that I own nothing.

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**Dark**

Kaede moved her head, trying to get her line of sight out of the shadows. It didn't work of course. It never would. No matter how hard she tried, one side of her would always remain in the dark.

"You will adjust," Kikyo told her, having observed her younger sister's movements.

Kaede turned her head to look at her sister, then grimaced when she only saw half of Kikyo's face. She turned her head even further to what she felt was a ridiculously odd angle.

Kikyo put a hand to her sister's cheek, smiling in gentle encouragement. "Just give it time, Kaede."

Kaede felt her bottom lip begin to tremble, felt tears filling her one remaining eye. "I-I'll try, sister."

Kikyo trailed her fingers lightly over the bandaged side of Kaede's face. "I'm just happy that you are still alive to grieve over your loss."

Kaede found herself leaning into the touch, into her sister's warmth. Her head was beginning to hurt from trying to adjust to her new two-dimensional vision. Her remaining eye burned slightly from trying to do the job of two.

One half of her would remain in the dark, would always be staring into shadows without hope of light. But she was happy to be alive as well and to have the benefit of her sister's love strengthen what light remained for her.


	6. Chapter 6: Kagura

Nothing that is associated with _Inuyasha _belongs to me.

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**Dry Eyes**

She knew it was a foolish thing to do, utterly beneath her, but in the end she could not refuse the impulse. Seated on her feather, Kagura cast one last look back at the silent figure of Sesshoumaru. She was relieved that, although he still stood where she had left him, his eyes were not on her, but fixed on some distant point in the landscape. It was good to know that her momentary sentimental impulse had not been observed; though a small part of her – a truly foolish part of her – wished that he had watched her go.

He had been her best chance, her only chance really, to be rid of Naraku. She would have thought that a demon such as Sesshoumaru would gladly accept the partnership she had offered him. She knew that to Sesshoumaru, there was nothing more revolting than a hanyou. The evidence was in every altercation between him and his half-brother. And Naraku was certainly the most despicable of all hanyous. Not to mention, Naraku had thought to control and manipulate Sesshoumaru for his own means. Such arrogance would surely aggravate Sesshoumaru's own sense of pride. Yet, when offered the chance to destroy Naraku, to rid himself of that thorn in his side, Sesshoumaru had refused.

He had refused **her**. The knowledge cut far deeper than she cared to admit. If Naraku thought to cross paths with Sesshoumaru again, the dog demon would no doubt kill her master. But he would not lower himself to actively pursue a half-demon so far beneath him. And on the same basis, Sesshoumaru would not associate himself with her, a result of Naraku's twisted body and mind.

It hurt, to know that he thought so little of her. But her eyes remained dry, because crying would have been beneath her. And like Sesshoumaru, Kagura would not suffer such an indignity.


	7. Chapter 7: Kagome & Inuyasha

I own nothing.

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**Forgiven**

Kagome stormed into the house, ignoring her mother's cheerful greeting. Stomping her way up the stairs, she stoked the fires of her anger with each satisfyingly firm contact between her shoes and the steps.

"I don't care what excuse he gives," she ranted to herself. "This time, I'll sit him till his back breaks."

Honestly! How often had she told him that he couldn't just follow her to school? But when she just happened to look out of the window during math class, what did she see but the familiar flash of red against the green of the trees. She had stood up so abruptly that her chair had fallen over and everyone – **everyone **– had been staring at her. She'd had to make up some lame, and highly embarrassing, excuse about having to go to the bathroom; and no, it couldn't wait.

After dashing out of the building, calling a general sit in the direction she had seen Inuyasha last and then practically chasing him off of the school grounds, she had made her way back to class. With everyone staring at her.

And now that she was home, she was going to give Inuyasha a piece of her mind.

She opened the door to her room, ready to tear into him….and then stopped at the sight before her.

Inuyasha was sprawled on her bed, deeply asleep, his ears twitching from time to time at some remote sound. Kagome wasn't sure how he had remained asleep through her rather violent homecoming. He was normally such a light sleeper.

_Except, he's been working so hard recently trying to find clues about Naraku and fretting about how many jewel shards he has. It's really no wonder he's exhausted. _The thought made her eyes soften and her anger disappeared as quickly as it had come. Tiptoeing into the room, she gently pulled the quilt from her bed over Inuyasha's sleeping form, tucking him in more firmly.

Smiling at the satisfied sound coming from her hanyou, Kagome exited her room, deciding to do her homework in the kitchen and letting Inuyasha get some well-deserved rest.


	8. Chapter 8: Soten

This is gonna get real old, real fast. I don't own anything.

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**Thunder and Lightning**

Soten angrily drew her brush over the paper, ignoring the storm raging outside. It was nothing compared to the storm inside of her and the little demon gave vent to her emotions through paper and ink.

She drew the figures of the stupid fox demon, the hanyou and the girl again and again: them running away from her wrath, them cowering before her, them pleading for their lives, the three of them saying they were sorry…

She wiped at her eyes and heard thunder echoing in the sky and saw lightning flash brightly. For the first time since the storm had begun, Soten took the time to watch the spectacle. Distracted from her drawings, her mind was free to dwell on her brothers.

_Hiten. Manten. _Her brothers were gone. They were defeated and dead and she was all alone now. The last of the Thunder Demon Tribe.

Soten wiped at her eyes angrily and turned back to her drawings. If she was to be the last of her tribe, then she would not disgrace her brothers. She would make them proud and avenge their deaths. And she would start by issuing a challenge that would make those three murderers quake in their boots.

She might be small, but she had big plans. With a sharp smile, Soten began to draw once more, fleshing out her plans to the accompaniment of thunder and lightning far overhead.


	9. Chapter 9: Kohaku & Sango

This drabble is dedicated to **EntropistAnon **as a thank you for taking the time and being the first to review this collection. Thank you for the wonderful review. Cheers!

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**Tip of the Tongue**

Seeing her, there is an undeniable feeling of familiarity. He takes in her face, her wide, startled eyes and decides that despite the tears, she is beautiful. He thinks there might be something in her face that reminds him of himself, but decides that that is mostly the armor. Yes. It is the armor that has confused him momentarily, that has brought about this feeling of familiarity…of recognition.

"Kohaku." Her voice jolts him for a moment, and he feels a throbbing begin in his temples. He thinks that he has heard his name spoken like that before, soft and endearing and by that same voice, but he is not sure. There is so much blankness in his mind these days that he is not surprised to find his grasping mental hands dip into the shadowy recesses of his mind in their search for answers and coming up empty.

"Kohaku, it's me. It's Sango. Don't you remember?" She walks towards him and he finds himself taking an instinctive step back, raising his weapon as he does so. Of course he cannot remember. He remembers so little besides his own name. He glances at the scythe held firmly in his hand and quietly acknowledges that there are other things he remembers. He remembers how to fight, though he could not say where he learned it. Odd, the selectivity of remembering.

But there is something in the name, something in the face of the woman before him and he halts his retreat. "Sango?" He repeats the name, trying it out on his tongue. The headache worsens, even as the woman's face brightens with hope. There is a connection there, he can feel his mind laboring to find it, to rebuild a bridge not just burnt, but utterly obliterated.

Kagura's voice breaks the stalemate and Kohaku runs to her, because this he does remember. He remembers her and their master. But looking back at the woman from his perch on Kagura's feather, Kohaku can't help but repeat her name in his mind. There was something connected to that name, memories and feelings, an idea, a concept…another word that he thinks might have meant something to him once. It is on the tip of his tongue, yet it will not come. His mind is only so much shadow and void these days. But he knows he will remember the tears on her face as she watches him leave and he knows he will remember her name. Someday, maybe, the empty spaces in his memory will be illuminated.


	10. Chapter 10: Izayoi

I own nothing and Santa has refused my request.

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**Devotion**

"Be reasonable, daughter." Her mother admonished her. "You know my lord will restore you to privilege, if only you obey."

Izayoi turned away from her mother's pleading eyes and looked down at the swaddled form of her son. Inuyasha was fast asleep, face turned towards her and ears twitching slightly at the sound of other voices. She drew him closer to her, tightening her arms around her son.

"I fear that this is one order my lord father will not see obeyed. I will not abandon my child." _No matter what the cost, _she added silently.

Her mother shook her elegant head, obviously at her wits end in light of her daughter's obstinacy. "You are not thinking clearly, Izayoi. Once _that,_" and her lips thinned as if trying to distance themselves from even this bare acknowledgement of the child. "Is out of the way, my lord can arrange a proper marriage for you."

Izayoi gave a humorless laugh, imitating the elegant tittering of a court lady, knowing it would vex her mother. "But dearest mother, who would possibly want to marry a demon's whore?"

Her mother drew back, shocked by Izayoi's vulgar language, though she had heard the term whispered and spoken throughout her family's estates since her pregnancy.

Her mother tried to recompose herself, smoothing her features. "There is always a way. We would select a lord from a distant province and add to your dowry." She eyed her child and the _thing _she was so adamantly holding on to. "Think about it Izayoi. You could have it all back. Your privileges, your wealth. You would be a princess once more."

Izayoi regarded her mother coldly. "Bribes won't work mother. Now please excuse me. I must attend to my child." It was a dismissal and they both knew it and the fact that she, the disgraced daughter, had dared to practically order the lady of the house out of her rooms, made her mother's cheeks color in anger.

Izayoi didn't wait to see her mother go. She turned her attention back to Inuyasha and smiled down at his sleeping form. "Don't be afraid," she whispered to him. "I will not abandon you, my little love."


	11. Chapter 11: Goshinboku

**Hope**

There was a change in the air, a shifting of breezes that sighed through its leaves. The Goshinboku's roots ran deeply through the ground and they told him now of a shiver in the earth where once humans had dug for water and where demon bones now rested.

The Goshinboku knows of this place, for it was made from its own wood. The shiver in the earth connected with the fluttering breezes and time collapsed in on itself. And the Goshinboku felt a change in its own skin, upon its skin.

For many seasons now, a heavy burden had rested on the Goshinboku; a burden aggravated by a wound deep in its bark. The weight of the body pinned to its flesh made growing difficult, had caused its roots to spring up and support the extra weight so as not to bow the tall trunk of the tree. And the arrow that had burrowed into its skin, like a nasty insect, had been sharp with bitterness and hate. Under the weight of so much disappointment and grief, the Goshinboku had found it impossible to bloom with the joys of spring.

But now, there was change and the Goshinboku, the Tree of Ages, felt for one moment time becoming thin. And in that thinness, it felt the layers of its other selves, past and future, come to rest over it. And it sensed deep change to come, as deep as the change that had ended with the tree carrying the burden of failed love. It felt the presence of blossoms resting in the branches of a future self and the Goshinboku found itself settling more firmly in the ground.

It was content. Change was coming and it would unburden the tree from the weight of the boy resting against its bark. There would once more be blossoms in the ancient tree's future.

The wind rustled through its leaves and the Goshinboku had reason to hope.


	12. Chapter 12: Kikyo

**Watchful**

The final arrow was already in her hand, when she found herself hesitating.

Pinned against the tree by his arms and legs, the silver-haired hanyou cursed and struggled. But when he saw her hand drawing out that fifth, that final arrow from her quiver, he became still. He narrowed his golden eyes, his ears coming to rest flat on his head.

"Well?" he snarled. "What are you waiting for? Finish it." His words were as much command as challenge.

Kikyo brought the arrow up to her bowstring, then paused once more. His words had intrigued her. Why would he want her to kill him? How could he remain so brazen when facing certain death? Most of the demons she had slain had begged in their final moments. Some had even tried to bribe her, seduce her with promises of power or offerings of peace. She had listened to none of them, of course. She was a miko, the guardian of the Sacred Jewel and she could not afford to waste more time on any single demon than it took to purify them. Because once she had slain one, there would be three more to take its place.

But those demons had all been merciless killers, who would have used the Sacred Jewel to enhance their powers in order to kill even more helpless people. The hanyou had been lurking about the village for a few days now, but he had never actually harmed one of the villagers. In fact, he seemed to make it a point to avoid other humans.

Kikyo was certain that he desired the Jewel as much as any of the other demons. Probably for the same purpose as well. But so far, his actions had been, if not peaceful, then at least not harmful.

She returned the arrow to her quiver and turned to go, ignoring the hanyou's outraged cursing behind her. She was a miko and sworn to protect and to kill if necessary. Until the hanyou became a direct threat to the village and the Jewel, she would not take his life. But she would watch him very carefully and she would judge his actions. In the end, time would tell.


	13. Chapter 13: Ah-Un

**Puddle**

Ah-Un watches the child struggling to keep up with Lord Sesshoumaru, while trying to avoid the biggest puddles and muddiest pieces of ground. She is only half successful. Already her bare feet and the bottom three inches of her kosode are brown and wet from the mud.

Raising one of its two heads, the dragon demon regards Lord Sesshoumaru, as always in the lead of their small group. There is no mud clinging to the demon lord. His clothes are as pristinely white as they always are. Even his boots are free of the mud, as if the wet earth did not dare to cling to such an elegant creature.

Both heads once more focusing on the little human girl, Ah-Un gives a double snort. The mud has no problem dirtying the child.

Rin comes to an abrupt halt in front of a very large puddle. The churned up patch of earth covers the small path she has been following completely. Sesshoumaru appears to have simply floated over the muddy patch, but Rin has no such powers. She looks from her filthy feet to the puddle, then up at the retreating back of Lord Sesshoumaru. She toes the stagnant water experimentally, then pulls back in shock at its coolness.

Ah-Un can see where this is going. Though she seems undecided, the dragon can see the panicked look coming over her face as she sees Lord Sesshoumaru disappearing into the distance. She does not want to loose sight of the demon, so she will brave the large puddle and, most likely, become a walking little mud pile until the demon lord deigns to stop for the night and she has a chance to wash up.

Ah-Un's right head shakes its mane and the left agrees. This would not do. The left head extends its long neck, until it can gently nudge Rin in the back with its muzzle. She turns around, eyes wide, and the right head makes an inviting gesture towards Ah-Un's saddled back. To make sure she understands, and to make the mounting easier, the two-headed dragon lowers itself to its knees.

Rin gives a squeal of delight and clambers unto Ah-Un's back. Waiting until she has settled herself, the dragon rises and makes its way over the puddle, carrying the little girl across the muddy road and towards greener pastures.


	14. Chapter 14: Sesshoumaru

**Decadent**

He was a demon lord, born to power and privilege. From the day he had been born and named heir to the Western Lands, everything he could have ever wanted was his, if only he said it should be so.

He was dressed in the finest of silks, was trained by the best with the best of weapons. He could enjoy the most delicious and outlandish foods, read the finest of books.

He lived in a palace far grander than anything humans, and most demons, could ever dream of. A world of intricate marble floors, carved wooden pillars and statues and paintings of the finest art.

And yet, Sesshoumaru preferred the solitude of the woods and the far mountains to the place of his birth. He wanted to hunt, rather than to have his meals served to him on fine porcelain. And while he still dressed in fine silks, he adorned them not with the jewelry and pomp of his station, but with a warrior's armor and weapons, well worn from battle. He did enjoy on occasion the mental challenges offered to him by a good book, but when he read, he preferred to do so sitting against a tree and under the blue sky, rather than in a chair beneath vaulted ceilings of stone.

He was a demon lord, a descendent of one of the oldest, noblest and strongest bloodlines of demon aristocracy. But for Sesshoumaru, the life of a lord was one of decadence and laziness. Let others while away their time in palaces. He would live among the trees and under the endless sky. He would wander the mountains and the grassy plains and he would be free.


	15. Chapter 15: Kagome & Inuyasha

I own nothing, though I gave it my very best shot.

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**Garden**

Kagome looked at the bouquet of flowers in her hands, utterly bewildered and delighted.

"Inuyasha, I-I don't know what to say."

The hanyou gave a self-deprecating half-shrug, while grinning in satisfaction. "Keh, nothing to say. It's your birthday, so I figured you deserved a present."

Kagome felt her eyes beginning to tear up. It was such an uncharacteristically thoughtful gesture of him. She had only mentioned in passing that she was returning to her own time over the weekend in order to celebrate her birthday with her family. She had not expected Inuyasha to follow her through the well and to actually present her with a gift.

"Oh Inuyasha, they're lovely. Thank you." And she hugged the hanyou tightly to her, flowers and all.

Inuyasha's grin widened into a true smile, as his own arms came around the girl. _Keh, guess I'll have to thank the monk for reminding me, _he thought.

Their moment was interrupted by a surprised shout, followed quickly by an exclamation of dismay.

"My flowers! What happened to my flowers?"

Kagome turned towards the sound of her mother's voice, perfectly audible from where they had been standing by the shrine's steps. Kagome caught a flash of silver from the corner of her eye, saw the suddenly uncomfortable look on Inuyasha's face and stared down at her birthday bouquet. Her birthday bouquet made up of _fresh, _non-cut, _handpicked _flowers.

With one eyebrow starting to twitch, Kagome fixed Inuyasha with a withering glare. "You. Didn't." It wasn't a question, but Inuyasha still felt the urge to defend his actions.

Throwing his hands up in the air to shield his face, he quickly backpedaled to the edge of the shrine steps. "Kagome just let me explain. They were just right there and I…"

"Sit boy!"

With a yelp Inuyasha was pulled down by the power of the spell, loosing his balance in the process and tumbling down the many shrine steps. Face downward against the pavement, the hanyou muttered angrily under his breath.

"Remind me to kill the monk, once I get back."


	16. Chapter 16: Shippo

Another round, another disclaimer. I don't own anything.

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**Thundering Silence**

Shippo glanced around the den and felt his heart tighten in fear and uncertainty. This had been his home for so long. The den was where he had been born, where his parents had raised him, or at least begun to do so. This was the place where his father had taught him his first pranks and where his mother had tickled him with her tail until he had ended up a laughing little ball, rolling on the floor in delight.

He had cuddled up to his parents here, when the night had grown dark and wild and he had needed just that little bit of added comfort.

Shippo's hand trailed over the wall, as he took in the den's dimensions one last time. This place was filled with so many memories, so much laughter. There had even been a few tears, as when his mother had died and he and his father had clung to each other for comfort.

But now, there was only silence. A silence so loud and intense that it drowned out all the happy sounds that he associated with the den. Shippo swallowed and turned away, tears in his green eyes.

He was alone now, and the den held nothing more for him but silence and more grief. Stiffening his tail, he made his way through the forest and away from the den he had called home his entire young life.

His steps quickened until he was running. Running away from the silence and towards the Thunder Brothers.


	17. Chapter 17: Sara Asano

**Unseen**

Though she could not tear her eyes away from him, Sara was sure that the great demon lord never even so much as glanced in her direction. It made sense. She was nothing but a lowly human, the daughter of a waning general insistent on fighting a war he could not win.

She supposed in that regard, at least, she and her father were the same. She too was engaged in a battle she could not hope to win, because the heart she wished to conquer refused to acknowledge her very existence. But like her father, she was too stubborn and determined to desist in her efforts.

Placing the flute to her lips, Sara began to play. She weaved the music about the memory of the demon lord Sesshoumaru, attempting to tell in notes what was inadequately expressed in words: his grace, his strength, her admiration, her love and devotion.

He refused to see her, because of her status as a human. Never mind that she was also a princess and considered quite beautiful by the men of her kind. But if she was to remain unseen, then she would not remain unheard.

Sara played and let the wind take her melody to the ears of the demon. Perhaps, his ears would convince him of what is eyes denied.


	18. Chapter 18: Sango & Miroku

**Husband**

Sango felt a vein on her forehead begin to pulse, as she watched Miroku talking to a gaggle of silly village girls. The girls were all giggling and blushing, practically throwing themselves at the handsome monk's feet. At _her _handsome monk's feet.

And said monk was doing absolutely nothing to dissuade them, merely being his usually charming self. When one of the girls grasped Miroku's hand and leaned forward as if to make some earnest point and showing an almost indecent amount of cleavage in the process, Sango decided she had seen enough.

Stomping her way towards the group, Sango took hold of her Hiraikotsu and gave it an artful swing. Miroku went down like a rock and the village girls decided it was time to attend to their chores.

"Sango, I don't understand?" Whined Miroku, rubbing the painful lump that was forming on his head. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"What did you do?" she asked incredulous. Tightening her grip on Hiraikotsu, Sango could feel her temper flaring once more. _That's it, _she thought. _I'm going to beat him unconscious. _

"Those girls were flirting with you, Miroku. And you were doing nothing to stop them."

She turned away from him, arms crossed over her chest. She didn't want him to see the hurt in her eyes.

Miroku rubbed his head, a quizzical expression now on his face. "They were?"

"Don't pretend like you didn't notice, monk." She shot back at him, still not turning around to face him. _He's such a lecher. He'll never change._

Strong arms snaked around her waist and she felt his warm breath tickle her ear as he gave a quiet laugh.

"My dearest, beautiful Sango, you have my word that I really had no idea those girls were flirting with me. How could any man pay any such attention to a mere group of girls when he is married to the most divine woman on this earth?"

Feeling herself softening, she turned halfway around, catching a glimpse of his eyes. "You mean that?"

Another chuckle and a quick kiss on her cheek. "Of course I do. I not only value my status as your husband, but my life as well."

She leaned into him, enjoying the presence of her husband for the moment. She would get him for that last comment later.


	19. Chapter 19: Taromaru

**Debt **

Taromaru yelped as his fingers were banged by the wooden staff his trainer wielded. The blow hurt, but he grimly held on to his weapon. The boy slid his hands further apart on the staff, correcting the way he held it to avoid a further blow.

His trainer nodded in approval, while his father scowled in the background. The village headman had already been rather put out by having to pay a bounty to the group of travelers who had freed them of the false water god's tyranny. To have to pay now as well, for his son's warrior training rankled.

But Taromaru remained steadfast in the face of his father's disapproval and his continuous attempts to steer the boy away from his training. In his eyes, his father had lost any authority he had once held, by cajoling Suekichi into taking Taromaru's place as a sacrifice. Besides, Taromaru had made himself a promise and that promise was tied to a debt he needed to repay.

He had promised that he would become a brave man, unlike his father and more like the hanyou Inuyasha; because he had seen true bravery in the hanyou's determination to endanger his own life to save those of his companions. And because Inuyasha had saved his best friend, Taromaru owned the hanyou a debt of gratitude and the honor of keeping true to his promise.

Setting his feet, the boy took a firm grip on his staff and swung it at the much taller trainer.


	20. Chapter 20: Kaede

**Sew**

Kaede carefully shook out the garment, dried lavender falling to the floor of her hut. Seating herself on a mat, she carefully inspected her sister's old miko robes, checking with her eye and her fingers for any tears or holes or stitching that had come undone.

She found a few threadbare patches, mostly at the sleeves and the collar, but these were more from wear than age. The robe's good condition surprised her, though she knew it had been made of sturdy material. Still, considering the amount of time it had spent at the bottom of an old chest, Kaede had expected far more damage.

Her hand lingered on the fine material, momentarily overcome by memories of her sister. Kikyo had always cut such a fine figure in these robes: noble, beautiful, aloof. The perfect image of a miko.

With a sigh, the old woman shook off the thoughts about the past. Her sister was dead; had been for over fifty years and it was time these old robes were put to use once more. She picked up needle and thread, carefully going over the measurements she had scrawled down on a piece of slate. She had to smile when she studied the numbers.

Similar in appearance they might be, but there were enough minutiae differences between her sister Kikyo and Kagome, that her sister's old things would need some readjustment.

She heard a commotion outside, two voices raised in angry argument.

"I can't believe you did that! Kikyo would never have made such a mistake!"

"Yeah, well maybe you should get it through that thick skull of yours that I. Am. Not. Kikyo!"

"Darn right you aren't, wench."

"Argh. I told you not to call me that. Sit boy!"

There was an audible thump, followed by a loud string of curses and angry footfalls going in the direction of the well.

Kaede shook her head and turned her attention back to her sowing. She knew that Kagome and Kikyo were not the same person, which was what had brought her to this task in the first place. And if she could see that, old and one-eyed, then perhaps a young hanyou might come to the same realization some day as well. Kaede just hoped that that day would come before she had to fill in any holes left before her hut.


	21. Chapter 21: Moegi

**Pick and Choose**

Sitting on the raft and watching the land draw near, Moegi reflected on her life on the island and the future that might await her and the other hanyou children in the outside world.

Her parents had left that world, because they had been outcasts from their respective societies, had been hated and spurned for their relationship and for spawning a half-breed child. In order to survive, they had had to choose between the world they knew and that had come to hate them, and life in exile on safe Horai Island.

With her knees drawn up to her chest, Moegi stared blankly into the distance. Horai Island had given them a measure of privacy and privilege. No one had hated them there, no had been an outcast, because they were all outcasts. But their lives had been lived in hiding, in constant worry of discovery and when the island had been invaded, life had become very much like what Moegi's parents had said the outside world had been like.

The wind ruffled her bangs and she took a deep breath, as behind her the other children argued and talked. There was no choice now left to them. Horai Island was gone and the hanyou children would have to make their own way and do so in the hostile lands of the outside world. They would have to pick and choose their companions carefully, measure the words and intents of strangers.

But it would be a life of a new kind, with a wider world to explore and more possibilities than Moegi could ever have dreamed. There was wisdom in seeking new experiences and though she would be careful in choosing her path, she would not be picky when it came to the road she was to follow.


	22. Chapter 22: Sesshoumaru & Inu Kimi

**Honor**

The task was disdainful to him, but he recognized the necessity of it. Sesshoumaru may not have cared for much in this world, but he was aware of his duties as Lord of the Western Lands and the responsibilities that came with the title.

He bowed before his mother's throne, catching sight of the demoness' thin smile as she regarded him from the dais.

"My, my Sesshoumaru. Two visits in such short a time. You positively smother me."

"Honorable Mother," he said and reminded himself sternly not to fall for her baiting. "I have come to express my gratitude for your actions in saving Rin's life."

The Lady Mother raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "My dear son, am I to understand that you have come all this way, simply to thank me?"

Sesshoumaru bit back a wince. When she said it like that, it sounded so….common, human almost. He was Lord of the West, a demon of near unrivaled power and to abase himself in such a manner went against his pride, his very dignity.

But there was more than pride or dignity to Sesshoumaru. Like his father, he had a keen sense of honor and though his code might not always compare to that of his father, he nevertheless adhered to it with the same fierce determination as the Inu no Taisho had. And honor demanded that he not let the Inu Kimi's actions pass without comment.

Swallowing his pride, Sesshoumaru once more lowered his head before the Honorable Lady Mother.

"Thank you, mother."


	23. Chapter 23: Grandpa Higurashi

**Death and Taxes**

"Whatcha doing there, grandpa?" Souta asked, watching the old man from the other side of the kitchen table.

Grandpa Higurashi harrumphed and flipped to another page in his newspaper, his expression one of intense concentration.

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm researching."

Souta took a deep gulp from his milk, seeing his grandfather's face darken in dissatisfaction.

"Researching what?"

"Diseases of course," exclaimed the old man, shooting a dire look at his grandson over the top of his newspaper. "I need to come up with new diseases for Kagome's friends. I've already told them twice she has pneumonia and they're getting suspicious. I need new material, but," and he shook the newspaper angrily in front of him, "this blasted thing is of no use whatsoever. Listen to this: crime rates are down, stock market is up, senior citizens are loved by all and teenagers are volunteering for good causes in droves. Bah!" And he cast the newspaper away from him in a flurry of pages.

Souta watched the pages of the newspaper drift towards the floor, then turned his attention back to his grandfather. "But, isn't that really good news?" He asked hesitantly.

"Well of course it's good news! And that's just the problem. I need bad news. I need exotic diseases. I need plagues and epidemics running amok." Souta ducked his head as one of his grandfather's wildly gesticulating arms came very close to knocking him a good one on the head.

Peeking over the tabletop from his cover, Souta watched anxiously as Grandpa Higurashi made his way to the living room.

"Where you going grandpa?"

"To watch the news. Someone, somewhere in this world is dying of some dreadful disease and I won't miss it," the old man grumbled, making his shuffling way out of the kitchen.

After all, besides taxes there was only one other surety in this life and that was death. Yes, death, taxes, and a grandfather's determination to help his granddaughter save the world.


	24. Chapter 24: Rin

**Squeak**

They had finally come to a stop for the night and Rin was immeasurably grateful for the rest. She had been terrified of losing sight of the demon and had pushed herself extra hard to make sure that the distance between them was never more than a few lengths. Above all else, she could not let him pass out of her sight, because if that happened, she might never see him again. Life was like that. One moment people were there and in the next instant they were gone forever.

Rin sat huddled beneath a tree, resting her aching feet, when the little green toad approached her. It squawked something at her in a high, angry voice, though Rin was too transfixed by its ugly appearance to actually pay any attention to the words. The toad was waving his staff around in the air, gesticulating angrily at her. He was such a funny little thing.

"Speak!" The toad screeched and the word brought Rin's attention back to it. "What are you waiting for you silly human? I have asked you a question and demand an answer."

Rin stared at the toad blankly. It had asked her something?

Seeing her puzzled gaze the toad clapped one hand over his face in exasperation and repeated his earlier question as if he were addressing a simpleton.

"I asked you," he said slowly, carefully pronouncing each word. "What. Is. Your. Name?"

Rin bit her lip, looking from the toad towards the silvery silhouette of the demon. If she wanted to tell them her name, then she would have to talk. And she hadn't talked in a very long time. As a mater of fact, she was no longer even certain if she could remember the sound of her own voice. But if she wanted to stay with the demon – which she did, very much – then she should tell them her name. It was the polite thing to do, after all.

Realizing that all eyes were on her now, those of the toad, the dragon and the demon, Rin blushed but opened her mouth to speak her name. What came out were not words, but a single, rusty squeak. She closed her mouth again in shock. Was that her voice? Was that all that was left of her ability to speak?

There were more indignant squawks from the toad, but it wasn't until a sudden silence had descended over the clearing that Rin looked up from her clasped hands. The demon with the silver hair knelt before her, his golden eyes watching her intently.

"Speak," he ordered her, his face still and his voice cool.

Rin opened her mouth, but found herself hesitating. She did not want to hear that weak squeak issuing from her throat again.

"Tell me your name," the demon commanded.

Rin swallowed, but opened her mouth once more. She stared into the demon's eyes, focused on their intensity as they watched her.

"Rin."


	25. Chapter 25: Izayoi

**To Die and Dye**

She knew she was dying even as her body labored to bring forth a new life. She knew it by the clucking and worried frowns of the women, who had been ordered to attend her. Knew it by the way her heart seemed to pause before giving another frantic beat. And she knew it by the wet feeling spreading between her legs, dyeing the sheets and her robes a dark crimson.

Women bled when they gave birth, it was inevitable; another of the burdens place upon a woman's uncomplaining shoulders. But not this much and not so continuously.

Izayoi laid back her head, panting for breath and beseeched the women to leave her, to flee before her lord came and sought his vengeance. The women hesitated, more out of propriety than any real concern for her and certainly not for fear for the child's well being. She was only a demon's whore dying while trying to birth a demon's spawn, but they had their reputations to consider. Fear, of course, won out and they fled the palace as the night's sky was torn asunder by a dog's hunting howl.

Izayoi panted, but she bit back all screams of pain or fear. She was alone now, but she was not worried about the birth. Women had been birthing babies since time immemorial and plenty of women gave birth without the assistance of a healer or even a midwife. Nature would take its course eventually.

The muscles of her stomach rippled in the effort to expel the child from her womb and Izayoi felt herself cave in, her life bleeding out with the child, even as the palace shook and the ground quaked.

She felt her eyes close and could not help but waste a moment on thoughts of Takemaru, the man who thought himself so honorable. But he had been unable to face his self-appointed task of saving her from her disgrace and the smile that now played on her lips was thin. She pulled her last strength together and concentrated on her child, forcing herself to look at what Takemaru had been unable to tolerate: her blood on the sheets and the floor, dyeing the world of her prison a new, violent color while she watched, dying.


	26. Chapter 26: Kagome & Inuyasha

**Gossip**

_"Did you see his ears, his eyes? The signs are unmistakable."_

_"No doubt about it, he's one of them."_

_"Half-breed."_

_"Filthy blood."_

_"Hanyou."_

Inuyasha hunched his shoulders and tried his best to ignore the whispers behind his back. He was uncomfortable, but unwilling to show as much. There was no way in hell that he was going to give these people the satisfaction of knowing that their snide comments bothered him. He was used to it after all. All part of the joys of being a hanyou.

_"Wonder what she's doing with him, then?"_

_"Think he has her under a spell?"_

_"Did you see how she was dressed?"_

_"As odd and unnatural as he is."_

Now **that **got his attention. Ears pricking atop his head, Inuyasha felt his body go rigid. Talking about him was one thing. He had come to accept it as part of his existence, but talking about _Kagome…._

He turned around, glaring at the small group of villagers that had gathered at the corner of the market, where he had remained to wait for Kagome. His eyes narrowed at them and he lifted the corner of his lip to expose a single, gleaming fang. The knot of villagers shrank back, some of the men raising a few farming tools in a half-hearted attempt at defense.

_"See, nothing more than an animal."_

_"She must be blind to stay with him."_

_"Such a pretty girl to waste on such a brute."_

Honestly, were these people stupid? Hadn't they figured out yet that his hearing was much better than theirs? That their whispers sounded like normal conversations to him? He balled his hands into fists, readying to strike out at the villagers, when a small figure in green and white emerged from the bustling market, yellow backpack bulging. Kagome grinned widely when she spotted him.

"Inuyasha." She called out delightedly, waving her hand in greeting, as if she hadn't quite expected – or forgotten – that he would wait for her. She skipped towards him, then snaked one arm through his, leaning close in her excitement.

"I got everything Kaede asked for and more. Mom and Souta and grandpa are gonna freak when they see what I brought back for them."

"That's great Kagome, really." He cast a glance back at the villagers, trying to gauge their reactions at the sight of Kagome practically throwing herself at him. The crowd had gone silent and stony-faced at this obvious display of affection towards a mere hanyou.

"You didn't…well, run into any trouble, did you?" He asked.

"Trouble?" she asked, already pulling him along in her eagerness to get back to the village and show off her purchases. "What kind of trouble would that be?"

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Just wondered if you heard any of the gossip."

She stared at him blankly for a few moments. "Gossip? Why would I listen to that? It's just trash ignorant people say about others to make themselves feel superior. Nothing useful or true about it, so why bother listening?"

He felt relief surge through him and let her drag him along the road back towards the village. He even went so far as gently squeezing the fingers wrapped around his palm.


	27. Chapter 27: Rin

**Silence is Golden**

When it came to words, Lord Sesshoumaru shared an unnerving similarity with the villagers. Both only ever addressed Rin when giving her orders. Both used short words, in tones that were clipped and authoritative. Neither ever seemed to feel that the little girl needed to hear more.

Amazingly enough, however, this similarity never bothered Rin, because it was the only similarity between her lord and the humans who had treated her so badly. Whenever the villagers bothered to talk to Rin, they yelled. Lord Sesshoumaru never raised his voice. The villagers words were harsh, their orders restrictive. Lord Sesshoumaru's words were pointed, yes, but his orders were kind. Rin still remembered the day when the villagers had ordered her never to fish again in their river. For a small girl on her own, losing so easy a source of food had been crushing. Lord Sesshoumaru never ordered her away from a source of food. In fact, he made it a point to tell her when and where she should seek for food and following his orders she never starved. Quite the opposite. When she went where Lord Sesshoumaru told her to go, she always found food a plenty, whether it was a bush full with berries, or a river teeming with fish.

The villagers had spoken harsh words when they had ordered her to live at the edge of the village, in the small and dilapidated hut that was really no more than a shack. Lord Sesshoumaru let her sleep where she wanted and only ever ordered her into shelter when the weather turned bad. And then, it really was shelter; either a warm and comfy cave or even the great palace he lived in.

The villagers had used words to order her away from them and when she had sought out their company in sheer desperation, they had used even crueler words to chase her away. Lord Sesshoumaru never ordered her away. Or, at least when he did, he explained to her that where he was going, a little human girl would not survive. And when he did order her to stay behind, he never left her alone: Jaken or Ah-Un was always ordered to stay with her.

So Rin was never bothered by the scarcity of Lord Sesshoumaru's words to her, or by their context. She never worried that his silence meant a dislike of her, as it had with the villagers. Rin didn't need words from her lord; his actions spoke to her far more eloquently than any mere words could. Besides, she had words enough for the both of them and Lord Sesshoumaru never told her to be silent.


	28. Chapter 28: Buyo

**Whiskers**

Buyo turned over onto his considerable stomach and blinked in dissatisfaction at the two assembled before him. The whiskers on his nose twitched. The dog-boy was back again. Buyo sighed. What was this world coming to, when humans that smelled like dogs could freely enter his house whenever they pleased.

"I don't want to, wench," the dog-boy whined. Buyo sniffed. As if what the dog-boy wanted mattered here. This was cat domain, through and through.

"C'mon Inuyasha," Kagome pleaded. "Don't be like that. I want you two to be friends."

Buyo's and Inuyasha's ears went flat against their skulls at that. Buyo actually managed to bring up the energy to raise his head and glare at the girl in outrage. Friends! He, a respectable cat, friends with a dog-boy? And she was normally such a sensible girl.

Kagome kneeled down next to him and began scratching behind his ears. Buyo leaned his head back on his paws and let out a purr. Well, maybe he could forgive her, just this once.

Kagome shot the dog-boy a glare. "Inuyasha, stop being so difficult and just get it over with already."

"Alright, alright already, sheesh." The dog-boy grumbled, but finally squatted down in front of Buyo and none to gently deposited a saucer full of milk in front of the cat.

"Here you go, you fat cat. Milk to fatten you up some fuc…"

"Inuyasha! Language!"

Buyo watched in amusement as his girl and the dog-boy started arguing, the dog-boy obviously losing ground and starting to look panicked. Buyo twitched his whiskers in interested and sat up to watch. This was getting good.

"You jerk! Sit!"

The dog-boy went crashing to the ground, the force of the impact sending soft ripples through the still surface of his saucer of milk.

His girl stomped away, leaving the dog-boy in an impressive crater muttering angrily to himself. Twitching his tail from side to side, Buyo waddled over to the saucer of milk and began to lap. Dinner and a show, how utterly delightful.

When he had lapped up the last drop of milk, Buyo carefully began to clean himself, ensuring he got even the tiniest of drops caught in his whiskers. He licked his paws and watched as the dog-boy crawled out of the crater, looking the worse for wear.

The life of a cat was good.


	29. Chapter 29: Mayu

**Lost**

When Mayu woke up, the first thing she became aware of was the sound of a flute. It was a pretty sound, one that invoked in her memories of games of chase with her friends and listening to avidly to the bedtime stories of her mother. Mayu wanted to go to that sound, to follow it, but something kept her back.

It was dark, where she was. Dark and close and the air smelled like burnt wood. It was hot, far too hot and although she tried, she could not find her way out of that place. She was lost in the heat and the darkness.

She knew the flute music was trying to lead her away from that dark and terrible place, but Mayu found herself resisting its call. Because she remembered that there had been something else in the dark. A sound far more familiar then the flute music; the sound of her mother's voice.

_Mama. _

With the memory of her mother everything else fell into place. The hot and dark place was the closet in which she had burned to death. Mayu was dead and her mother had not tried to save her. She'd saved Satoru, but not her.

The flute music became softer, but no less insistent. It wanted her to come to it, to leave the darkness of her memories. The music wanted to save her from being lost.

But Mayu wasn't lost. Quite the contrary; she knew exactly where she was. She was in the room where she died. And as she gazed around the blackened remains, she also knew where she wanted to be. And her will made it so and she gazed down at Satoru's face, sleeping peacefully, while her mother sat beside him at his hospital bed, holding his hand. And as fury filled her at the injustice of it all, Mayu also knew what she wanted. She wanted to make them pay.

And because she was still only a little girl and because she was angry and bitter all at once, Mayu did not recongnize the danger she was in. But the Soul Piper did and watched her carefully, its eyes opening wider to watch all the better as the little girl's soul lost its way and wandered further and further towards damnation. But it kept on playing its flute, hoping the song would lead the girl back, away from the dark.


	30. Chapter 30: Inu Kimi

**Majestic**

When the rumors began, the Inu no Taisho's mate remained untouched by them. While her mate disappeared for longer and longer periods of time, she remained at the palace to govern the Western Lands and to raise their son. The courtiers, thinking themselves unobserved, whispered behind her back about the Inu no Taisho's dalliance with a human princess. And although she heard them, she did not cut them in half or order them beheaded. Such a reaction would have been beneath her, an unnecessarily emotional display that would have given undeserved credit to the rumors.

For her calm and poise in the face of such disgrace, other demon's came to admire her, praising her as the epitome of all demon aristocracy. And it was only her just due.

When her son came to her, incensed beyond all reason by the news of a half-breed child born of his father's affair, she could only sigh in vexation. Despite her best efforts, her pup had never grasped the very essentials of royalty. While he accused her of not interfering in this sordid affair, she could only tsk and chide him on his behavior. He was being foolish and unbecomingly temperamental. The Inu no Taisho had been a great lord; great lords had mistresses and sometimes, those mistresses bore children. In the event of such an occurrence, one had to bear it with dignity, acknowledge the child and ensure that it received the education and training so as not to disgrace the noble blood that flowed through its veins. Such was the way of things.

Her matter of fact explanation, her cool acceptance only fanned the flames of her son's temper further. He was indignant; he was outraged. He saw his honor and the honor of his family besmirched for all eternity. He refused to acknowledge the child as a blood-relative, even went so far as to swear to kill it should their paths ever cross.

She could only shake her head as he stormed from the palace. Would he never understand that their honor was far above such petty things like illegitimate children, even if they were half-breeds? Would the boy never see that their blood was too rich, too royal to suffer disgrace from so common a source? Another small sigh escaped her perfectly shaped lips. Her son was the definition of majestic, in appearance, bearing and movement. But he just did not understand true majesty in both actions and forbearance.


	31. Chapter 31: Kirara

**Kitten**

She was a very small, mewling little thing; all pink skin, with tiny ears. She yawned and Kirara peered a little closer, carefully examining the inside of the pink mouth. Toothless. How utterly strange.

A shadow bent over the basket in which the kitten lay and Kirara looked up, her red eyes wide and alert.

"Isn't she beautiful?" the demon slayer asked her and smiled fondly down at his newly born daughter.

Kirara cocked her head this way and that, her twin tails twitching a little as she considered this statement. Beautiful? She wasn't so sure about that. Kirara had spent a lot of time around humans, nearly two centuries, and she still found them sometimes strange to look at. And their young! So utterly unprotected by either fur or teeth. Alright, so young kittens of her kind were also dependent on the protection of their parents, but at least they grew far more quickly. Kirara knew very well that this little human kitten would need years and years before she could take of herself.

The man reached out a hand and affectionately rubbed Kirara's ears. Kirara mewled in pleasure. Well, strange looking they may be, but humans did have their uses. She looked up at the big man fondly, watching his face as he looked from her to his daughter. The expression on his face was soft, loving and Kirara was reminded of a scene very much like this one, many years before.

Back then it had been Shako who had proudly presented to her his newborn son. His face had also been soft and full of fondness. And now Shako was gone and the kitten she had once inspected with the same amount of skepticism was now all grown up and having kittens of his own. It made her sad and happy all at once.

Kirara looked down at the kitten once more and felt a fondness for her well up in her own heart. She was the kitten of Shako's kitten, a continuation of her first demon slayer partner. She had watched over Shako and over his son. And now she would watch over this little kitten until she was all grown and no longer needed her.

With a determined twitch of her tails, Kirara climbed into the basket and lay down next to the kitten. The little girl turned towards the source of warmth and clumsily waved one small hand at her. Kirara nudged her face gently with a bewhiskered nose, urging the child back to sleep.

Standing over them both, the little kitten's father gave a warm chuckle.

"That's right Kirara, you watch over her. It's Sango's turn now to have you as a companion."

Kirara purred her agreement.


	32. Chapter 32: Rin & Sesshoumaru

**New Clothes**

Throughout the ordeal, Sesshoumaru reminded himself that what he was doing was necessity and not kindness. The child's old kosode stank of blood and wolves and its mud and filth encrusted appearance offended him. He was a demon of rank and importance and it was already beneath his dignity to have her following him. But to have her seen in his presence in her current rags was adding insult to injury and he would not stand for it.

So he did what he normally avoided; he purposefully changed his path and walked into the presence of humans. He endured their stares and their shouts of alarm and their general smell and located a clothes shop, all so that he would no longer have to endure the state of the child.

With the owner of the shop cowering in some corner, Sesshoumaru regally inclined his head towards the small human girl and told her, "Pick something to wear."

She stared at him, her eyes wide with wonder, before she gave a delighted little squeal, running towards the bright displays of cloth and finished clothing. And as time seemed to drag by endlessly as the little girl dashed from one display to the other, Sesshoumaru sternly reminded himself that it was for the relief of his senses that he endure the indignity of waiting for a human.

When she finally came back to him, she was wearing a kosode with an orange and yellow checker pattern and small green circles. Sesshoumaru's nose twitched ever so slightly. It smelled clean and of good cotton and although bright, neither its color nor her general appearance in it offended his sensibilities.

"This one?" he asked, just to be sure. Humans were such fickle creatures and he did not want to incur any potential whining about wanting something else.

Rin smiled happily, nodding her head in enthusiasm. "Yes, my lord." She even twirled for him on the spot, to give him a better view of her new kosode. Apparently, she wanted his approval.

Sesshoumaru nodded once and turned to leave. He heard Rin's bare feet behind him, then suddenly she stopped. He turned to see what she was up to, ready to order her to come along and to not keep him waiting.

Rin was standing before the cowering shop owner. Smiling brightly at him as she said, "Thank you. It's a very lovely kosode."

He had not done any of this out of kindness. It had been merely to rid himself of an annoyance. And it was to forestall a potential future annoyance that he left a few coins on the table of the shop owner. He did not need for a local shop owner to accuse him of so silly a thing as theft and to call in the local samurai. Dealing with those fools would take precious moments he did not care to waste.

It was all necessary, he assured himself as Rin ran ahead of him, laughingly calling out to Jaken to come and see her new kosode. Necessity. He was not being kind. He was not turning into his father. It was what he kept telling himself.


	33. Chapter 33: Ah-Un & Rin

**Pack Animal**

The longer the girl stayed with them, the more it became apparent that they could not continue as they had. The three demons could hunt as they needed and even the most extreme of weathers or terrains rarely bothered them. But Rin was nothing more than a small human girl and she could not eat raw meat, or hunt with her bare hands alone. She could not trudge for hours through rain and sleet, nor could she sleep every night underneath the open sky with nothing but her own body heat for warmth.

So the girl was provided for, being given the tools necessary for fishing or laying traps for small animals. She was given a coat and shoes for bad weather and a blanket for cold nights. But it seemed that solving one problem only elicited another. For now, it became apparent that the child was not capable of carrying all these things by herself.

She did try, Ah-Un had to give her that. She was a determined little thing, for all her small size and quite inventive. She used the blanket to make a handy bundle and some extra rope to strap it to her back. But she was so small that it looked like the bundle was wearing her and the added weight was noticeably slowing her down, which caused her quite a bit of distress because Lord Sesshoumaru of course, did not slow his pace.

So one morning, the two heads of Ah-Un exchanged a meaningful look and trotted over to Rin as she prepared her bundle for that day's traveling. The right head nudged the little girl, softly snuffling her hair, while the left head gestured towards its saddle. Rin looked up questioningly.

"What is it Ah-Un?" she asked. "Do you want a scratch?"

What a considerate little human she was. The right head nudged her playfully. Maybe later, but for now, there were other matters to address. The right head gripped her bundle by its strap, while the left gestured towards the saddle again. Rin's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, can I, Ah-Un? Can I really?"

The two heads nodded in unison. She could indeed. As Ah-Un watched the little girl jovially attaching her bundle to the saddle, chattering away all the while, the demon felt great satisfaction spread through it. Under normal circumstances, the role of a pack animal would have been so far below the demon's dignity as to be offensive. The dragon was a noble mount and the personal means of transportation for the Lord of the West, a powerful demon in his own right. But for this cheerful, smiling little girl, Ah-Un would happily carry her bundle. What was the weight of her things, after all, compared to the brightness of her happiness and the easy rhythm of her light steps?


	34. Chapter 34: Kagome

**Stand-In**

Kagome had come to hide beneath the Goshinboku's wide, sweeping branches and she was not ashamed to admit it. She was, however, ashamed to let Inuyasha see just how much his words had upset her. If she was going to cry because of the stupid jerk, then she was going to do so privately.

_Stupid, insensitive, arrogant blockhead, _she thought, furiously wiping at her streaming eyes.

It wasn't her fault that she wasn't that good of a shot yet. She'd only been practicing with her bow and arrow for a few weeks. So how could he ever expect her to be as good as Kikyou, who'd had years of practice and experience behind her before she met Inuyasha?

_But that's all he ever cares about. That I'm not as good as her, or as talented as her. _She buried her face in her hands, biting her lip to keep back a sob. It just wasn't fair, none of it. She was trying her best to adjust to a life that was utterly alien to the one she led in her own time. She practiced hard every day, while still trying to keep up with her schoolwork and her friends. It was hard and she was tired and all Inuyasha could ever do was complain about her slow progress and treat her like…like…

_A stand-in. That's all I really am to him. Nothing but a stand-in until someone better comes along. _

The thought incensed her. Kagome abruptly stood up, wiping at her face, her mouth set in a grim line. She was Kagome Higurashi and she was no ones stand-in. She was her own person, with her own talents and she would prove that to Inuyasha if it killed her.

_Or him, _she thought, a sudden gleeful spark returning to her brown eyes. _Maybe, just maybe, my next arrow will land right in his backside. That'll teach the jerk. _

With that image in mind, Kagome set her shoulders in a proud line, raised her chin defiantly and walked back to the village. She would practice some more under the patient eye of Kaede and pay Inuyasha back for his insults. She would show him; she was so much more than a stand-in.


	35. Chapter 35: Ungai

**Monk**

The duty of a monk was to protect the people from harm and the greatest harm in this world emanated from the demons who roamed the land, preying on the innocent. Ungai had seen many villages ravaged by a demon's might, had seen a single beast slaughter dozens of humans. So as a monk with great spiritual gifts, he considered it his primary duty to hunt down demons and exterminate them, so as to guarantee the safety of the people. And wherever he went, the people thanked him for his services, welcomed him into their villages.

So it was that Ungai could not understand the little girl's reaction, either to him or to the appearance of the demon. Unlike the other children, she had not run towards his protection, but instead, had shied away from him and his followers. She had declared her preference for the presence of a demon over his. She believed that the demon would protect her, that he would be kind to her. She was such a foolish child; yet, she spoke with such solemnity of her convictions.

But he was a monk and even if she initially refused, it was his duty to protect and educate her about the errors of her ways. It might be a harsh lesson for so trusting a child to learn, but a lesson that needed to be instilled should she survive in these perilous times. Except, it seemed the girl had already learned about the cruelty of the world she lived in. She had seen slaughter and had faced down death. But it was not from demons that she had been threatened, but from her fellow humans. She had learned the lessons that Ungai wanted to teach her the hard way, but associated the source of their pain with her own kind.

It was bizarre and against everything he knew and believed in. But as Ungai watched the little girl happily racing after the retreating form of the powerful demon, he had to wonder if, in his zeal, he had not neglected one aspect of his duty. He was a monk and a monk was meant to protect the people from demons, but he was also meant to protect humans from each other; to fight exploitation and to spread peace among the populace through his prayers and teachings. Had he, by focusing solely on the extermination of demons, caused other humans to suffer at the hands of a human evil? Were there more little girls out there, who believed that the cruelty of demons paled in comparison to the cruelty of man, simply because there was no kind monk to teach them the truth?

No. He turned his back on the scene and spoke a soft prayer for the foolish child. She was an abnormality and he feared she would pay dearly for her misplaced trust. But he could not win a fight against this demon and his powers were needed elsewhere, so he could not throw his life and that of his followers away to save one erring soul. He was a monk and his duty called.


	36. Chapter 36: Sango & Miroku

**Uninvited**

"Why not?" Sango asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Miroku. "He was very kind to us, when we came to his castle. The least we can do is invite him to the wedding."

But Miroku stayed uncommonly stubborn, shaking his head in absolute refusal. "My dearest Sango, you know that normally I would not hesitate to fulfill your every wish, but," and he held up a hand to forestall any further argument, "in this one instance I will remain firm. We are not inviting Kuranosuke Takeda to our weeding."

"But you still haven't told me why?" Sango exclaimed, completely exasperated with the monk. He was acting utterly ridiculous and she simply could not understand why. Miroku had his faults – many of them – but he was usually a very kind and sociable person. She could not understand his sudden animosity towards Takeda.

"Because Sango," Miroku said, his eyes firmly fixed on her face. "A man has to draw the line at some things." A small tick appeared on his forehead. "And inviting the man who has proposed to ones future wife to the wedding is one of them."

Sango paused for a beat. "Miroku," she asked, cautiously, "are you jealous?"

The deadpan look he gave her was all the answer she needed. Sango burst into laughter, almost rolling on the floor of their home in her amusement. "You are," she managed to gasp out in-between burst of hysterical laughter, "so adorable sometimes."

At his perplexed expression to her reaction, Sango burst into actual giggles before she flung her arms about him and kissed Miroku lightly on the cheek.

Ah well, the runny nose could stay at his castle as far as she was concerned.


	37. Chapter 37: Hitomi

**Good and Ready**

Hitomi firmly believed that when you had something to say, you should just say it. After all, what was the point of dithering? Words were meant to be spoken out loud, not kept in your head like rabbits in a hutch. That was the whole point of language, wasn't it? If you weren't going to say what you had to say, then what was the use in being able to speak at all?

That was why she liked hanging out with her friends and why she rarely walked alone. She liked listening to people, liked talking to them. It was so much more pleasant being with people and just having an honest conversation with them; that was fun. It was why she didn't like people who didn't say what they had to say. It stifled a meeting, making her uncomfortable, always having to guess what the other wanted to say. The unspoken words could hang heavily in-between.

But when Sota just came right out and said that he liked her, Hitomi had to admit she was floored. She had been utterly unprepared for the revelation and though she was thrilled, she understood for the first time why some people kept what they wanted to say behind locked lips for a while. It was to give the other person a chance to be good and ready to actually hear them.


	38. Chapter 38: Sota

**Good and Ready II**

Everywhere he looked it was the same; people and TV and advertisements telling him to just come out and say what he wanted to. But for Sota, telling Hitomi just how he felt wasn't that easy. It wasn't that he didn't know what he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her that she had the softest looking hair and that her eyes were the most beautiful and kindest he had ever seen. But actually working up the courage and saying them was proving harder than he had anticipated.

There were times when Sota felt like an absolute coward, especially after Hitomi revealed to him that she disliked people who did not say what they wanted to say. The revelation crushed him, because if she ever found out about his struggles to confess his feelings for her, then she would dislike him too. She might even hate him, or worse, laugh at him.

And his sister and Inuyasha weren't much of a help either. Alright, so Inuyasha did try to encourage him and Kagome, in her own overactive way, had tried to set up the perfect scene for them, but still. What did those two know about revealing their feelings? They were still arguing their heads off, rather than confessing how they felt about each other. Sota had to smile at that. His sister and Inuyasha were quite a pair; he wondered what Hitomi would think of their inability to say what they really wanted to say.

Sota stared into the setting sun, then straightened his shoulders. Well, maybe Kagome and Inuyasha hadn't been able to give him the best advise, but watching those two interact did teach him one thing: he wouldn't wait for ever to tell Hitomi how he felt about her. But he would wait to tell her until he was good and ready and he could say it with all the sincerity of his heart.


	39. Chapter 39: Jaken

**Onslaught**

In the greatest display of courage any kappa demon had ever given, Jaken swung the Staff of Two Heads, disintegrating entire swaths of the sinister moths in the fiery blaze. Behind him, Rin had sought cover and Jaken could hear the little girl whimpering in fright.

_But never fear. Jaken is here, _he thought proudly and gave a fierce shout, to show just how ferocious he was to both the moths and to Rin. Of course, the onslaught of moths was no match for his skill and power and soon, the air cleared of the winged menace.

As the last of the creatures turned to ash beneath his fiery might, Jaken gazed about him proudly, his beaked head raised in triumph. He had been magnificent.

Rin peeked out from her hiding place, staring about her wide eyed and astounded. Jaken could not have been more pleased. He had fought bravely, had protected the little human and now he was more than ready for a different kind of onslaught; the effusive praise and gratitude of Rin.

But even as he readied himself to accept her worshipful thanks, the ungrateful little brat rushed past and him almost threw herself at their lord. Jaken was so crushed, the weight literally pulled him downwards.

_But…But I…I was the one…._Tears came to his big yellow eyes as Rin praised their lord's speed and combat skills. Life was so not fair.


	40. Chapter 40: Juromaru & Kageromaru

**Misshapen**

Though both of their names meant perfection, Juromaru and Kageromaru were the most misshapen of Naraku's creations.

Juromaru was the physically perfect one, both stronger and faster than many demons. But as whole as his body was, so broken was his mind. Juromaru rarely thought and those thoughts he did have were limited to his bloodlust and his desire to kill. These base ideas were so strong, that they consumed him to the point where he was beyond the control of any one, except for his brother. Juromaru had no loyalties, not even to his creator. He had no sympathies and did not empathize. Even pain meant nothing to him.

Kageromaru was as physically grotesque as his brother was perfect. With the head of a human and the body of a small, bone-white parasite with sharp claws, he was as far away from human as a demon could get. And as misshapen as his body was, so clear was his mind. Unlike his older brother, Kageromaru could think, could plan and from his resting place inside of Juromaru, he could whisper his schemes into his brother's empty mind. And though he was the younger of the two, Kageromaru's will was strong enough to exercise control over Juromaru that even Naraku did not possess. But inlike his brother, Kageromaru was not strong and his sharp mind made him fear both pain and death. So he hid inside of Juromaru and he hid beneath the soil. He was a parasite after all; why should he not live accordingly?

They were misshapen and warped, in body and in mind. But it was this aspect of their nature that made them such good tools for Naraku to use. They were misshapen and knew it and so they did not long for a life of themselves or to free themselves of his influence to live in the world as independent agents. They were shaped out of Naraku's desire for weapons to use against Inuyasha and his followers, so whether they were under his direct supervision or not mattered little. They would do as Naraku wanted them to do, because their natures would not let them do anything else. And in that, they were perfect.


	41. Chapter 41: Ayame

**Tempest**

Koga disappeared in a whirlwind, leaving Ayame behind with her pigtails slapping against her face with the force of his departure. He was running off to see that human girl again, she was sure of that. Koga always got that distracted, sparkling look in his blue eyes when he thought about the miko with the strange clothing.

And every time he did, he left Ayame in the dust; the red-haired wolf demoness unable to keep up with his enhanced speed. It wasn't fair. Koga was her intended, he had promised to become her mate, but at the first sign of the human, she was forgotten. Did his promise to her mean nothing? Had his words been nothing more than an impulse, inspired by the beauty of the moment and the pressures of his responsibilities to his pack?

_What makes _her _so special? _Ayame wondered, dusting herself off after being showered in the loose dirt and leaves whirled up by Koga's hasty egress. _How can she inspire such a storm of emotions in him? _

It was beyond Ayame's understanding how she could be inferior to a human in any way. Abruptly, she straightened her shoulders. She was inferior to no one, and that was that. Especially not to some silly, weak human girl who was clearly mooning after that dog half-breed.

So what if Koga never got all emotional about her. If she could not inspire a tempest of emotions, then she would simply show him the strength of her feelings. After all, Ayame might not have the ability to create whirlwinds, but she was a tempest in her own right. And Koga was about to be left in the dust.


	42. Chapter 42: Sesshoumaru

**Pretty in Pink**

Sesshoumaru eyed the displays of cloth with ill-conceived annoyance. Such a petty task, far beneath his rank, but one that had proven clearly beyond the capabilities of his servants. The last time he had allowed Jaken to perform this duty the result had been a monstrosity too hideous to look at. Utterly unsuitable for the purpose he had intended.

At least he did not have to worry about the quality of the material. As by his orders, the samples presented to him were nothing more than the finest quality cloth the market had to offer. Now all he had to do was chose the color and design that would do the job best.

His long-fingered hand touched first one, then a second piece of cloth. Was green the answer? She did like spending hours in the grass, enjoying the feel of it against her bare feet. No. The green of this cloth was far too dark to suit. Purple? It was certainly a royal color and one that spoke to him, but he had already gifted her with a kimono in that color. He would not repeat himself.

Sesshoumaru ignored the browns and dark blues and nearly hissed at the offending brightness of a glaringly yellow piece of cloth. What ridiculous preferences these humans had. He shoved the sample aside and fingered the one beneath it thoughtfully. It was bright, which suited her personality, but not so bright as to offend the eye. It was adequately feminine he supposed, but the color and the design managed to strike a balance between childish and growing maturity. That was good, for she was coming of age and her wardrobe should begin to reflect that.

He pulled the sample out of the pile, studying more closely the design. They were flowers; that was good. She would enjoy wearing anything that had flowers on it. Sesshoumaru rang a small bell, signifying to Jaken that he was done with the selection and the sample ready to be returned to the store, so that the kimono could be made. As he waited for his servant to arrive, Sesshoumaru mulled over his final decision once more, but continued to be satisfied with it. Yes, Rin would look very pretty in pink.


	43. Chapter 43: Tokajin

**Hermit**

Tokajin surveyed the remains of his parents and felt neither sadness nor regret at their passing. What he did feel was annoyance, because now he would be obligated to go through the trouble of digging graves for them and surely the village headman would insist on the proper rites and the presence of a monk. So much effort and for what exactly? Just two old people who had spent their lives working themselves ragged in the fields and who had died as they had lived; with bent backs and a peasant's resignation. They had never reached anything, had never aspired to anything and their small, crammed hut was proof of that.

A lifetime of work and all it had brought them was a home too small for the three people who had lived in it and a death beneath patched blankets.

_And they weren't even that old, _he thought and felt a shudder go through him. It was true; his parents had not been particularly old, even by the standards of peasants. There were older people in his village and certainly the nobility had some members that were by far the oldest people Tokajin had ever seen. _But I'll never get that old, _he realized. _I'll inherit father's field and I'll be expected to work in it from sunup to sundown and then I'll end up just like him; old before my time and dead before I get the chance to live. _

He didn't like that thought. It was a very upsetting thought. He stared at the stiffening corpses that had once been his mother and father and realized that he did not want to die. Ever. It was such a gruesome thing, to just lie down in bed one day and stop breathing; for your body to cool until it was hard as stone, only to then bloat and stink. Death was such a disgusting thing; almost as disgusting as the way his body felt and smelled after he had spent all day in the field, knee deep in water and sludge under the scorching sun.

_I don't want that. _The thought came to him on a rising wave of panic. _I don't want to die. I don't want to spend the rest of my existence, alive or dead, stinking. I want…I want…_He wanted to live forever. But no one lived forever. Only gods and demons possessed immortality. For a mortal like him, death was inevitable.

_Except when you're a hermit. _It struck him like a lightning bolt; the idea illuminating his rather dim and selfish mind in a flash. Hermits were holy men, who purified their bodies past the limits of mortality and attained eternal life. And power. Yes, hermits were also powerful. They possessed a spiritual power that even monks and mikos could rarely match.

The idea, once planted in his mind, began to take root and fester until it completely gripped his being. He could escape death and be given more respect and power than he had ever dreamed of. Than his parents had ever thought of. That pleased him.

Turning his back on the cooling forms of his deceased parents, Tokajin exited the hut and began to make his way through his village. He would find a hermit and become his student and reach immortality. Let the dirt grovelers of the village find his parents. Their stink would not bother them as much as it bothered him.


	44. Chapter 44: Kikyou & Kagome

**Open and Closed**

Despite the fact that Kagome was Kikyou's reincarnation and their physical appearance was greatly similar as a result, there were definite differences that even Inuyasha could not deny. It was in the way in which they faced the world, how they greeted each coming day and the challenges it would bring.

Kikyou had learned to keep her emotions locked away, for her responsibilities and duties demanded that she show nothing but courage and conviction in light of danger. Her face would remain closed to strangers, her eyes shuttered against those who would challenge her, because it was the only way she could guarantee no one ever saw her falter. It made her appear aloof and sometimes arrogant, though that too was more in keeping with what most expected from a powerful and beautiful miko. It was only her kindness and compassion that sometimes broke through the restrains, but they too were carefully monitored, to be closed up again when the situation called for it.

Kagome had never been subjected to the pressures of such expectations. Her family and society expected nothing more from her than that she try her best and as such, her emotions were left a free reign. Kagome was an open book and unashamed of it. If she was sad, then she shed tears; if she was frightened, then she went pale and when she talked, her face revealed every thought and feeling that might cross her mind. She laughed without restraint, because she did not understand the need for such a thing. And when she met people, she opened her heart to them completely, without reserve or caution.

Despite their similarities, Kagome and Kikyou were two very different people, marked by their times and their duties; their personalities shaped by both experience and expectations. One found security in the closing off of her heart. The other never hesitated in opening herself to others. No one could deny it, not even Inuyasha.


	45. Chapter 45: Kagura

**Armor**

Kagura gripped her fan tightly between her hands, to hide the fact that they were shaking. She had failed in yet another attempt to kill Inuyasha and that aggravating band of humans that followed him around and she knew that it would mean swift and vicious punishment at the hands of her creator. Naraku never missed an opportunity to remonstrate her for her failings.

_But what was I supposed to do? _She thought furiously. _It's not my fault that the half-breed managed to teach himself and that sword of his a new trick. _She had barely escaped with her life and Kagura knew that this situation would prove to be no different. Naraku would not kill her; she was fairly certain of that. But he would make her suffer and she had to be prepared for that.

And he did; for a very long time and with increasing ferocity. Kagura tried not to scream, because she wanted to keep some of her pride intact, but knew that her resolve would weaken sooner or later. It always did.

But her hands never let go of her fan, even though her grip on it caused the skin of her palms to split open and bleed. That fan was the only bit of armor allowed her, the only thing that could keep Naraku from taking what he really wanted. He could have the satisfaction of hearing her beg for the pain to stop, but he would never have the desired result of seeing her shake in fear. Her fan protected her from that.


	46. Chapter 46: Sango & Miroku

**Tight Fit**

Sango was slipping into her armor in preparation for an extermination job in a nearby-village when she noticed the pinch. She frowned. What was this?

She readjusted the sash that held both the lower armor piece protecting her stomach and midriff and her wakizashi. But retying the knot didn't help. The armor still pinched her stomach uncomfortably. And her jump suit didn't seem to sit right either, stretching in unusual places. But how could that be? Her armor, as well as the rest of her demon slayer costume, had been tailored specifically to her size and measure with the greatest of care. A slayer's life depended as much on his armor as on his skills and the crafting of each piece underwent the most careful of scrutiny before being issued to the recipient slayer. Sango's armor had been fitted specifically to her needs; reflecting both the freedom of movement she needed around the shoulders for throwing her Hiraikotsu, as well as a need for comfort when riding Kirara. Her armor _fit her, _had fit her since it had been given to her and there was no way it should not fit her now.

_Unless…_The idea was nearly too horrifying for her to think. She was _not_ growing fat. All right, so she had been eating a bit more than she usually did, but she had always had a healthy appetite. After all, she led a stressful and active life and she could afford to – no, needed to – eat heartily at meals. There had to be a different explanation as to why her armor was suddenly such a tight fit…around…her…belly.

"Oh, my." The words escaped her in a whisper.

* * *

Miroku was not used to having to have to search for his wife before a mission. Sango had never been one to dillydally in front of a mirror to check her appearance, though certainly she had the beauty to do so. So he was mildly puzzled, as well as annoyed, when he pushed back the reed curtain covering the entrance to their home, searching for his errant wife. When he saw Sango – brave, beautiful, tough and fiery Sango – standing in the middle of the hut with tears streaming down her face, annoyance flew right out the proverbial window and puzzlement turned to concern.

"Sango?" he asked, coming over to take her into his arms. "What's the matter?"

She scared him nearly senseless when she turned her face towards his chest without an ounce of resistance. What was going on? Was the world ending? Was he about to die?

Then Sango started to talk in-between her sobs, trying to explain to him something about the tight fit of her armor and a particular part of her anatomy and how she hadn't noticed that she was late, because they had been so busy lately.

Somewhere along the way, Miroku was pretty sure he said the appropriate things, because he did live to see his twin daughters be born. But looking back, he knew it had been a near thing. Because somewhere in that addled mind of his, while he had been trying to comprehend the news and the absolute joy that had gripped him, he was pretty sure there had been a comment lurking about other places where her armor would soon become a tight fit. Luckily though, he'd bit his tongue.


	47. Chapter 47: Jinenji & Ma

**Black and Blue**

There was a sudden high-pitched squeal that cut through the air and which made the woman working in the small garden drop her hoe in alarm. Turning around, she saw a big form running towards her at a lumbering gait, with a horde of children from the village in hot pursuit. The children were laughing and shouting, throwing things at the person trying to outpace them. Hot anger coursed through her veins at the sight. How dare they, those little brats!

"Ma! Ma!" Jinenji shouted at the sight of his mother and hurried towards her with outstretched arms.

"Get behind me, Jinenji," she said firmly and her son dashed behind her protective frame, crouching down low to somehow fit his gigantic body behind her own small form.

She saw that her son's orange skin was mottled with black and blue bruises, no doubt from the projectiles those children were throwing. His blue eyes looked up at her scared and pleading, streaming tears. The sight incensed her.

She turned towards the shouting children, most of them half the size of her son. Would they ever realize, she wondered furiously, that the only reason they could torment Jinenji with such impunity was because her boy was too gentle-hearted to hurt them? Well, she wasn't.

With a shout, she raised her arm at the oncoming children and threw a rock she had picked from the garden's soil moments earlier. The rock flew in a straight line, clipping one of the children on the arm, drawing blood. The child screamed in hurt outrage.

"Serves you right!" she screamed right back and threw another rock. "Have a taste of your own medicine!"

The children, unused to be so treated by an adult, hastily retreated, shouting obscenities at her and the still cowering Jinenji. It only served to fuel her anger even more and she hastily grabbed at the rocks she had piled next to her garden plot and began throwing with abandon.

For her son, for the way they treated him, for herself and all the venom the villagers brought against the two, she screamed and threw and threw. The children, now faced with an onslaught of rocks, ran screaming and crying back to the village and she saw with some satisfaction that most of them would be as black and blue come tomorrow as her dear Jinenji was.

She held her protective stance for a while more, making sure the brats were truly gone. Then she turned towards her weeping son and took him into her arms, rocking him gently even though by now he dwarfed her figure. She combed her fingers through his tousled hair, cataloguing his injuries for later treatment. But though she spoke to her boy gently with all the love she felt for him, in her heart was the bitter knowledge that these would not be the last bruises he would incur.


	48. Chapter 48: Kagome & Inuyasha

**Blast**

Kagome sent a silent prayer to the heavens and let her arrow fly. The string of her bow twanged as she released it and she just had to close her eyes, because she could not stand to see the arrow miss its mark. There was too much riding on her getting this right.

Inuyasha, having engaged the enraged oni, had given her an opening to take the demon down with her purifying arrow, seeing that his attacks weren't working out. The oni, charged up on a sacred jewel shard, was simply too powerful even for the Tessaiga to handle.

But her archery skills had always been more modest than she cared to admit to, even after all of these months of practice. So she was nowhere near as confident as to the success of this maneuver and was therefore caught completely unawares by the sudden blast that blew her backwards and off of her feet.

Kagome went flying, only to be caught by Inuyasha, who used the wide sleeves of his haori to shield her and him from the worst of the blast and the wash of bright light that accompanied it. When it was all over, Kagome dared to peek out from behind Inuyasha's wide sleeve, gaping at the sight before them.

The oni was no more; nothing left of him but small smoking pieces. In-between those, she could just make out the glow of a tainted jewel shard. Kagome turned incredulous eyes towards Inuyasha.

"Di-did I do that?" she asked meekly.

He snorted at her surprise. "You sure did, wench." He pulled her back to her feet, sheathing the Tessaiga before leading her back to the remains of the oni. Still a little overwhelmed at what she had done, Kagome picked up the jewel shard, whose glow brightened for a moment as her spiritual powers washed over it and purified it in the process. When she turned back to Inuyasha, she was almost embarrassed at the proud look on his face.

"Told you, you could do it," he said, showing the point of one fang in a satisfied smirk.

"I guess you did."


	49. Chapter 49: Izayoi

**Flower**

A proper princess was meant to be like a blossom: delicate and small, beautiful and transient. Her skin was supposed to be as pale as the cherry blossoms at their most perfect, her hair so dark and glossy, it could rival the slim stems that held the flowers to their branches. And her eyes were meant to shine and to contrast with the pale perfection of the face surrounding them, attracting any admirer as surely as the bright pistil of the blossom attracted the bees.

In that sense, Izayoi was the epitome of what a human princess was meant to be. She was a flower in every sense of the word, as beautiful as any gardener could have hoped to breed. And like any good flower, she decorated any room she was in, both with her beauty and her scent; an unobtrusive but ornamental embellishment for her father's estate and for the home of any man who might one day have claimed her as a bride.

But there was one thing that most people tended to forget about flowers and which Izayoi was about to remind her family of. Even the most beautiful of flowers had vicious thorns.

She gently shifted the sleeping Inuyasha to a more comfortable position, watching as the tiny face of her infant son first crinkled up then smoothed out once more. She knew why her father had ordered her to this interview; knew he would demand that she rid herself and the family of the shame they perceived her son to be. Well, if her father thought he could force her with the weight of his authority, then he would get a rather nasty surprise.

Because beneath that pale skin and those beautiful eyes, there was a will that easily matched that of any of her male relatives. Izayoi might be a flower, but she had her thorns and for the sake of her child, she was not afraid to use them. Even if it meant pricking the people she loved dearly.


	50. Chapter 50: Sesshoumaru & Inu no Taisho

**Ball or Brawl**

His prey was a cunning beast, quick and erratic in its movements. He would need all of his considerable skills to bring it down. But he would do so, because he was the son of the Lord of the West, the greatest general Japan had ever seen and the heir to a noble bloodline.

He approached warily, stealthily, his nostrils flaring slightly to take in the scent of his prey. Precision was the key to success. He crouched down low, his prey in his sight, victory sure at hand.

With an immature growl, the young pup threw himself at the ball, digging his claws and teeth into the tough hide. The ball, almost the same size as the pup, began to roll with the sudden shift in weight, and the pup gave a surprised yelp as he was suddenly dumped onto the floor, the ball on top of him.

Growling in indignation and hurt dignity, the pup extricated himself from beneath the ball, pushing it away with all his might. Though young, the heir to the West was strong and the ball flew across the room only to bounce off of one wall and head straight back at the pup. Golden eyes had time to widen in surprise before the ball impacted straight with the pup's face, once more sending the small demon tumbling to the ground.

The Inu no Taisho, watching his son's antics from a safe distance, chuckled quietly. "Would you like some help in slaying the beast, Sesshoumaru?" he asked.

The boy glared at his amused sire, rubbing at his face, where the ball had left a very large, very red mark. The pup sniffed in indignation and turned a stony glare on the ball, now slowly rolling to a stop.

Ignoring his parent, young Sesshoumaru crouched down low once more, another high-pitched growl escaping his throat. This meant war.


	51. Chapter 51: Hitomiko

**Spider Web**

Hitomiko had always known that, as a miko, her life would be short and her death no doubt cruel, despite the fact that she possessed considerable spiritual powers. It was simply the way things were for her kind. But she had always hoped that, once death had claimed her, she would find the peace she could never attain in real life. After all, was the reward for a life dedicated to the wellbeing of others not supposed to be a peaceful and harmonious afterlife?

But when she opened her eyes all Hitomiko found was darkness and a pair of violent, glowing red eyes staring back at her.

_No! _Her mind rebelled at the sight. This was not how it was meant to be. She had told the villagers to take precautions. Hadn't she? She thought she remembered doing so.

A dark chuckle penetrated her rather fuzzy and slow thinking. "Don't strain yourself my dear. I can assure you, you won't need that much of your mind for my purposes." Naraku smiled at her. "All I need is your body and your power."

Hitomiko felt her limbs jerked back and then suddenly, she was standing upright. Her eyes caught on the thick, white strands that seemed to be attached to her body at various places. She was nothing more but a puppet on strings.

Seeing her horrified expression, Naraku began to laugh. Hitomiko closed her eyes in despair. No, not a puppet. It was much worse than that.

She was a fly caught in the spider's web.


	52. Chapter 52: Nazuna

**Ally**

After the death of her parents at the hands of spider demons, few could blame Nazuna for her hatred. Many villages had been decimated as a result of the vicious attacks and she was certainly not the only one to hold a grudge against all demons as a result.

So it was that Nazuna felt quite within he rights to turn against the half-demon after she discovered what he really was. Saving her life from those demons and her fall from the cliff did not make up for the tainted blood that flowed through his veins, nor for the cruel nature that surely lurked beneath his exotic appearance. So what if she was being rude or ungrateful? He was a demon…worse, a half-demon, a manifestation of an alliance between two races that were only meant to be enemies. That was the natural way of things, not this…this creation and his equally strange looking miko companion. To think, a demon and a miko working together. It was absurd.

Nazuna felt validated in her hatred, but even she could not deny that the half-demon – _Inuyasha _– had done his best to defend her and Kagome; had tried, despite at great cost to himself, to fight off the spider demons. And was the enemy of her enemy not to be considered a friend. Could she, in this time of danger, not consider him an ally for the strength he brought to the group?

When it was over and she had nothing left but the ashes of the temple in which she had been cared for and the ashes of her convictions, Nazuna had to admit that her hatred had been unfair – in some regards at least. She had seen Inuyasha and Kagome off; had heard them engage in another one of the arguments they seemed so fond off and it had made her smile at the time. She had a lot to think about, because of those two.

Humans and demons: maybe they could be more than allies?


	53. Chapter 53: Tsubaki

**Pursuit**

Her master had told her, time and again, that she was both extraordinarily gifted and meant for great things. Tsubaki came to believe him, even came to expect such praise as her right. After all, she was a powerful miko, one of the strongest of her time and others had nothing but open admiration for her. Other mikos complimented her on her skills, her intelligence, her quick advancement through the training and, most often, on her beauty.

At first, this praise embarrassed Tsubaki, but as time went by, she did not only get used to the attention, but craved it. It was, after all, simply her due. But there was one who never seemed to acknowledge her with more than a friendly nod and a few simple words. One who never gushed about Tsubaki's skill with a weapon or about her finesse in wielding her spiritual gift.

At first, it puzzled Tsubaki why this miko was not acting like the others. Then she understood; she watched Kikyou practicing with her bow and arrow, felt her bones vibrate with the power coming from the other, slender woman and listened to the praise the others bestowed upon her for her accuracy and talent. Tsubaki realized that Kikyou was strong; at least as strong as Tsubaki herself was. She was nearly unmatched with the bow, a weapon Tsubaki herself rarely used. And she was beautiful.

For the first time in her life, Tsubaki found that she had a rival. From then on, it was a race between the two young women. Tsubaki worked harder, in her studies and on the range. She studied ancient scrolls and texts for hours at a time, quizzed her master on the most obscure of rituals and lore, all so that she could impress others with her knowledge. And she spent hours in front of the mirror, arranging her hair until it fell perfectly, treating her skin so it would remain delicately pale and watching like a hawk for the first signs of unseemly wrinkles.

But no matter how hard she ran, it seemed that in her race against Kikyou, the other girl always came out ahead and with seemingly little effort. Her master began to warn her about things such as pride, jealousy and vanity, but she paid him little attention. What did he know about the affairs of women and the constant battle against time? Nothing.

But her pursuit of Kikyou's success seemed doomed to fail, not matter where she turned. The final slap to her face was when her own master handed over guardianship of the Shikon no Tama not to Tsubaki, the student he had groomed for that role for years, but to Kikyou. In that moment, Tsubaki felt a rage rise inside of her that she had never known could exist. But there was also fear, because with the Shikon no Tama out of her reach, there was no hope for her to preserve for all time the one thing that Kikyou had never been able to rob from her: her astounding beauty.

But Tsubaki was nothing if not determined. Defeat had never been a word in her vocabulary and if Kikyou thought their race was over, then she was sorely mistaken. Tsubaki would pursue the other woman to the gates of hell and back to prove that she was the better.


	54. Chapter 54: Kagome & Inuyasha

**Compromising Situation**

Kagome had to bite her lip to keep from giggling out loud at the sight before her and quickly jabbed an elbow into Sango's side to keep the older girl quiet. There was no way that she wanted the three people before them to know they were being observed in this most compromising of situations.

Before them was Inuyasha, slumped against the side of Kaede's hut, deeply asleep. Curled up in the hollow of his crossed arms was Kirara, the demon cat contentedly purring as she indulged in the pleasures of a cat nap. Propped up against Inuyasha's side, also deeply asleep and in a pose oddly redolent of that of the dog hanyou, was Shippo.

While he slept, one of Inuyasha's ears would occasional twitch. As she slept, the tips of Kirara's twin tails would gently twitch. The toes of Shippo's paws twitched sporadically in some dream. Sango and Kagome waited, breaths abated and the various appendages of all three sleeping demons twitched simultaneously.

Sango smothered a laugh with her hands and Kagome had to look away for a moment to keep her composure. This was just too adorable for words. But maybe not for pictures.

Rummaging quickly through her big yellow backpack, Kagome triumphantly pulled out a small camera. She was going to preserve this moment for posterity and when the time came, use it to blackmail Inuyasha.

With a devilish grin, Kagome took the snapshot.


	55. Chapter 55: Onigumo

**Unified**

Onigumo accepted the pact and let the demons feast on his body. After all, what did he have to lose? Nothing more than a mutilated body, burned beyond recognition and use and a life as a cripple, forever trapped in this cave. The alternative was far more promising.

There was pain at first. A pain that far outpaced what he had felt as his body was burned and thrown into the torrents of water. The agony seemed eternal and he felt his sanity – what he had left of it –begin to slip as a means of escape. But the voice, the voice of the spider, called him back. It called him to it, to a consciousness of sorts. Because this too was part of the pact.

The spider was cunning in the ways all predators were. But it was a demon and a minor one at that and its overall intelligence was rather low. Similarly, it understood little of humanity, could not understand the motivations of the humans it preyed on. That was why it, and the host of other minor demons that now consumed him, had failed in acquiring the Shikon no Tama. They could not conceive of a plan more complex than waiting for the opportune moment to attack the priestess. They did not understand about _creating _that opportune moment, about _manipulating _the events and the people around them. That was where he came in. He was human and he had spent his entire adult life taking advantage of his fellows; had preyed on them as easily as these minor demons had, but having to rely on his wit to do so rather than his overwhelming strength.

But now he would have both. He let the spider capture his consciousness in its web, let himself flow along the strands, coating them with his essence. He and the spider merged, unified, coalesced. They took control of the other lesser demons, forced them into an opportune position to create the body – the being – they needed to fulfil their ambition.

And out of many emerged one. Onigumo and the spider made Naraku. One and the same.


	56. Chapter 56: Sango & Miroku

**Wind Chime**

There was a small tinkling of sound that made Sango look up from the cooking fire she had been building. She frowned, dusting her hands off on her kimono and rising gracefully to her feet. _What could that be? _

Going to investigate, she found Miroku outside of their home, busily trying to affix something to the top of a window frame. The tinkling sound was coming from whatever it was he was holding in his hands.

"Miroku, what are you doing?" she asked him, half exasperated and half curious.

"Hmm?" he glanced at her distractedly, then gave her his boyish grin. "Sango, you are just in time. I've…almost…got this," he frowned, then his face brightened with success. "Aha, got it." Triumphantly, he stepped away from the window, giving Sango a clear view of what he had been doing.

The tinkling sound she had heard earlier had come from a wind chime. Now that it was hanging properly, its clapper gently knocked against the hollow metallic reeds, producing a series of sweet, musical notes.

Sango looked bemusedly from it to her proudly beaming husband. "It's nice, but what is it for?"

"Why, Sango, I thought that would be obvious," he said, his expression turning to a mock hurt. "I, your devoted and considerate spouse, have come up with a means for you to be serenaded by a sweet melody whenever you are about the house."

Sango put her hands on her hips, her amusement beginning to evaporate. She was starting to see where this was going. "This is another one of your ploys to make me stay more at home, isn't it?"

"Eh," he laughed nervously, sweat beginning to pop out on his forehead. "Well, maybe. But in my defense," he said quickly, raising his hands to defend himself from her growing wrath, "you are five months pregnant and my concerns are purely for you and the baby."

He shrank back at her approach, seeing the fire in her eyes. He was in for it now.

Sango slapped him upside the head. "That's for thinking you can tell me what to do," she told him. Then she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And that's for being concerned," she added in a softer voice. "And I really do like the wind chime."

"But you're not going to stay more in the house," he concluded.

"Not a chance."

Miroku gave a heavy sigh, hanging his head. Ah well. You win some, you lose some.


	57. Chapter 57: Izayoi & Inu no Taisho

**Contrast**

No matter how you looked at it, they were a contrast to each other in every way imaginable.

The Inu no Taisho was a demon lord. Izayoi was a human princess.

He had silver hair and eyes as golden as the sun. Her hair was the darkness of shadows. Her eyes the soft brown of the freshly tilled earth.

He was a warrior, wise in the ways of battle and with the blood of many an opponent on his hands. Her hands had rarely touched anything more dangerous than her fan and the warrior arts were forbidden to her on the basis of her status and sex. Though she had learned minor means of defending her honor, Izayoi was expected to keep her hands free of the sin of spilled blood.

He was as wild as the moon he sang to and the forests he roamed. He was an independent creature, in need of no one but himself. People were beholden to him for their lives. He owed them nothing but the fulfillment of his duties. She was a bird in a cage, expected to sing for the pleasures of passing suitors and visitors. Were she to be allowed to fly free, she would surely die within the week. Though of the higher class, she was as dependent on the good will of her father and brother as any pauper was dependent on his lord. She was beholden to her family, to the customs of her people and to her own needs. Without her family, she had no legs to stand on and so she owed them everything she was and had.

There was little that could have brought them together, even less that could have kept them together. But love began to twine itself around them and though it would be a short-lived bond, it was one that was experienced to the fullest. It was the red string that tied them to one another and which they kept a hold of even as their contrasting worlds threatened to tear them apart. The rest simply did not matter.


	58. Chapter 58: Kagome & Inuyasha

**Cold**

Kagome shivered as another gust of wind went right through her. She had completely underestimated just how cold it could get in feudal Japan after sundown and her school uniform offered absolutely no protection from the elements.

Again she bent over the small pile of wood, trying to get a fire started with the piece of flint and steel Kaede had given her. Of course, Kagome didn't really need to resort to such basic techniques. She had a perfectly functioning lighter in her backpack.

_But I guess this is where pride gets me, _she thought ruefully.

While making camp for the night, she and Inuyasha had gotten into one of their habitual arguments and somewhere along the lines, the half-demon had accused her of being a complete dependent; both on him and her modern day technology. Stung, Kagome had rather haughtily declared that she needed neither to get along. And Inuyasha had promptly called her on it. So Kagome was trying to start a fire, while Inuyasha was patrolling the edges of the camp, making sure there were no demons or other threats nearby. Well, she didn't know how he was doing, but without a proper lighter, she was having about as much success at making a fire, as she would writing a math exam without pen and paper.

She struck the flint against the steel again, trying to create a spark, a little desperate now. To her utter delight and surprise, there was a small spark of light, which jumped to the piled-up wood and promptly began to first smoke, then burn. Barely able to believe her luck, Kagome inched closer to her little fire, trying to cosset the flame into something bright and warm.

"C'mon," she cooed at it. "C'mon, just a little more, just a little…"

There was another gust of wind and her little flame went out.

* * *

When Inuyasha came back from his patrol, he fully expected to find one very frustrated and defeated Kagome. He was confident in the fact that without all of the 'tek-no-lo-gy' from her era, she was more than helpless and would be forced to admitting that fact to him. The idea of her forced surrender caused a small smirk to play about his lips.

So the scent of tears and the sound of a forlorn sniffle caught him wholly unprepared.

"Oi, wench. What's the matter?" he asked, annoyed and – he hated to admit it – worried.

Kagome, still kneeling in front of the unlit pile of wood, turned a tear-stained face towards him.

"I-I had it going," she said, sniffling all the while. "But then, a-a wind came by and the fire went back out and I just can't get it started again." She hung her head, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I guess I really am useless without my stuff."

Alarmed by her attitude and the threat of more tears, Inuyasha squatted down next to her, extracting the flint and steel from her limp fingers.

"You're not useless, wench," he replied gruffly. "Just annoying as all hell. Here, let me show you how it's done."

And he began teaching her how to go about setting up a campfire, but not before draping his haori over her shivering form. After all, it wouldn't do to have her catch a cold when there were shards to be found.


	59. Chapter 59: Izayoi

**Missing Out**

Being the mother of a half-demon child came with its own particular burdens. Aside from worrying about her son's general health, Izayoi found her days and nights often plagued with anxieties about his future. Would Inuyasha find a place for himself when he was older? When would he be "older"? Would he age as slowly as normal demons? And if he did, would she die before her son was a full-grown man and capable of taking care of himself? Her family would surely cast him out, once she was no longer there to plead for their leniency. And then what? Would he even survive to adulthood? It was such a cruel world out there, even if you were not a half-breed and hated by both humans and demons alike.

When she saw Inuyasha chase after a ball in the gardens, Izayoi realized that there was another question she had to worry about.

Her little boy ran after the ball eagerly, but as Izayoi watched, the adults who had been playing with it moments before left the gardens, turning their backs on the ball and the boy. It was like a slap to the face for Izayoi, to watch these members of her family's household move so deliberately; and all to exclude a small child from a game.

She could see the look of confusion bloom on Inuyasha's face as he saw the adults were no longer there, no longer available to play with. So she called to him and when he came she hugged him close, enclosing him within the many folds and layers of her kimonos. And she cried.

Izayoi cried not only for the awful name she had to explain to her son, so casually thrown over a shoulder at her boy. She also cried because she had now witnessed firsthand the exile Inuyasha would be subjected to, all the things he would never be able to experience, because people could not see past blood. It occurred to her that Inuyasha would never play like other children would, in a circle of friends and family and she wondered what else he would be missing out on as he grew older.

Izayoi drew Inuyasha close to her, letting him listen to the beat of her heart and the sound of her tears: all for him. If nothing else, he would never miss out on his mother's love.


	60. Chapter 60: Kaede & Kikyo

**Basket**

It was not the earliest memory she had of her sister, but it was one of her favorites. Even now, when she was an old woman, with grey hair and joints that ached in damp weather, Kaede could still recall the feel of the grass between her fingers as she had tried to weave a little basket out of the material.

She had not been more than six and her fingers were still chubby and short and seemingly unqualified for the task which she had set herself. It had been a child's whim, this basket making; a quick, determined desire to copy the nimble movements of the older village girls. She had not been allowed to join them; though the sister of their village's miko, Kaede had still been nothing more than a child and considered more of a nuisance than an actual help. The older girls had refused to give her any of the materials they were using and had told her that if she so desperately wanted to weave a basket, then she could use the grasses outside to do so; grass was everywhere, after all.

So Kaede had gone off to sit by the shore of the river, trying to copy the movements of the older village girls' fingers, trying to make her own little basket. But the grass had continued to slip from her fingers and she could never seem to get the weave right. What she had ended up with mostly were little, misshapen, tangled cups of grass that listed to one side or another, or fell apart at the merest touch. And being a child of six, it hadn't taken long until her frustrations and disappointments had manifested themselves into tears.

Kaede could no longer recall how long she had sat at the side of the river, crying. But she could remember the feeling of a large shadow falling over her and how the sound of her sister's voice had made her feel.

"Kaede, what's the matter? Are you alright?" There had been concern in that voice, as well as love and it had soothed Kaede then, as it had done later, whenever she recalled that moment.

"I-I can't make a basket," she had sniffled.

Kikyo had surveyed the little work area she had made for herself, scrutinizing her rather pathetic attempts at making grass baskets.

"Is that what those are supposed to be?" she had asked and her lips had twitched upwards into one of her rare smiles. It was one of the clearest moments in Kaede's memory: the sight of her sister's smile and the feeling of warmth that had rushed through her back then at being the cause, even if it was due to her failure.

At her silent nod, Kikyo had knelt gracefully in the grass next to her, putting aside bow and arrows and pulling Kaede into her lap. "Here," she'd told her little sister, "we'll make a basket together and then you'll know how." And she had encompassed Kaede's much smaller hands in hers and had guided her through the movements, creating a little, perfect grass basket.

Looking down at her now wrinkled and rather gnarled hands, Kaede felt the same smile come to her lips that always came when she thought of that day. Kikyo had always found time to teach her things, to make her feel better about herself. And like her hands had never forgotten the movements of basket making, so her heart had never forgotten that peaceful day by the river.


	61. Chapter 61: Akitoki Hojo

**Bad Timing**

Akitoki Hojo watched the woman he loved argue with the silver-haired half-demon Inuyasha and felt his heart sink. Hidden by the trees, none of the group paid him any attention, which was just as well. He had meant every word he had said to Hoshiyomi; he believed that love never truly died and that it was the perceived weakness of humans that made them special, because it was this weakness that allowed them to open their hearts to others. And it was also true that he loved Kagome, with all his heart, in spite of her strangeness at times.

But seeing her arguing with Inuyasha, their faces so close, their nose were almost touching, he could see that his love would not be reciprocated. When the beautiful Kagome looked at him, he saw a softening of the eyes that bespoke of a certain amount of fondness and a general kindness intrinsic to her nature. But now there was a fire, a passion to her eyes that bespoke of feelings that ran far deeper than those she harbored for him. And they were all aimed at another man.

Akitoki Hojo sighed. He did not regret what he had said, but he now realized that his confession might have been bad timing on his part. Kagome was obviously already spoken for, whether or not either of them realized it. Perhaps, if he had met her first, or if he had confessed his feelings earlier? But there was no changing the situation now. With a rustle of leaves and a silent plea for Kagome to take care of herself, he departed from the scene, leaving the friends behind. It was time he set out on the road again.


	62. Chapter 62: Sango & Miroku

**Modesty**

Miroku watched Sango train with her Hiraikotsu and could not help the admiration rising inside of him. The way she handled the large weapon, swinging it overhead and in cutting arcs, one might think it weighed no more than a fistful of leaves. He knew better of course, and his shoulder still ached with the memory of using the weapon in his fight against Menomaru's minions.

Sango threw the Hiraikotsu again, the large boomerang easily cutting through the straw targets she had set up earlier. With a slight shift of her legs, Sango braced herself and caught her weapon on its return arc. It was all done in a single, fluid motion and she seemed to show no strain at all at fighting the momentary momentum of the weapon.

"Sango, my dear, I have nothing but abject admiration for you," he told her out loud, earning a rather startled look from the demon slayer.

"Admiration, why?" she asked, sounding curious, but not wholly unpleased with the notion.

He grinned at her. "For being able to throw that monster of a weapon time and again and not even breaking a sweat over the effort."

For a moment, she did nothing more than blink at him in puzzlement, then she laughed. "Throwing Hiraikotsu isn't an effort, Miroku. It's pretty easy once you've figured out the right stance and how to take the weight." She hefted the weapon to prove her point, but Miroku only shook his head.

"You are entirely too modest, my dearest Sango," he told her. He got up and walked over to her, throwing an arm companionably around her shoulders. She startled a little, but did not shrug him off. But she did bonk him a good one with the edge of Hiraikotsu as his cursed hand wandered too far down her back.

"And you are entirely too much of a perv," she snapped back and stalked off, leaving him lying in the dirt, an impressive bump growing on the crown of his head.


	63. Chapter 63: Ayumi, Eri & Yuka

**Spy**

"It's him again, isn't it?"

"Urgh, why can't she sees that he's totally wrong for her?"

"Yeah, Hojo is clearly way better for Kagome."

Ayumi sighed as she came upon her two best friends, Yuka and Eri, spying on her other best friend, Kagome. Again.

Peeking past the other two girls' shoulders, Ayumi could clearly see Kagome and the strange boy, Inuyasha, down in the schoolyard. The two of them were standing practically toe-to-toe and even over the distance and through the glass, Ayumi could tell they were arguing. Again. And absolutely ignorant of the fact that they were being spied on. So…altogether a normal day.

Suddenly Eri straightened, her fingers drumming impatiently against her side. "That's it," the girl declared. "I'm going down there and telling that jerk to back off from Kagome once and for all." She nodded resolutely. "And then I'm going to drag Kagome to Hojo and get those two on a date, if it kills me."

Ayumi felt sweat pop out on her brow. Spying on the pair was one thing, but interfering in a lover's spat?

"Hold up, Eri," she said, stepping in front of her determined friend and waving her hands frantically before her. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" Yuka chimed in. "Kagome shouldn't be with such a bad boy, anyways. He's clearly far too possessive of her."

"Well," Ayumi hedged, "I wouldn't call it possessive. I think it's rather romantic, the way he's always hanging about. He clearly wants to spend as much time with Kagome as possible." Ayumi gave a dreamy sigh, the romantic in her melting a little at the thought of so much devotion.

Eri was less impressed. "Really, Ayumi?" she asked. "I don't think…"

"Hey, are they going to kiss?" Ayumi quickly interjected.

With equal shouts of dismay and no little curiosity, her two friends were back at the window, eagerly returning to their spying. Ayumi sighed with relief. She might not have saved Kagome's privacy, but she'd certainly bought her friend a bit more uninterrupted time with the boy of her choice.

Then, with only a tiny pang of guilt, Ayumi joined Yuka and Eri at the window. After all, what was the point of defending true love, if you couldn't see it in action?


	64. Chapter 64: Kagome

**Silk**

In those few silly moments when Ayumi, Eri and Yuka began to fantasize about what their future husbands might be like, Kagome had noticed a definite repetitive pattern.

Her three best friends wanted handsome, intelligent and kind men, who would dote on them for the rest of their lives. But they also wanted men who could shower them with gifts as well as with affections. A big house, diamonds and pretty clothes made of expensive silk were some of her friends' favorite objects of speculation.

And there'd been a time when Kagome had fantasized right along with them. Well, girlish dreams aside, who wouldn't want a husband who could also support you in whatever endeavor you decided on and who could, from time to time at least, surprise you with pretty things?

Beneath her fingers, Inuyasha stirred restlessly, the movement breaking Kagome from her reverie. She watched for a moment as the hanyo's face scrunched up, as if in pain, his ears flicking agitatedly back and forth as the wind continued to howl outside of Kaede's hut.

Kagome made soothing noises, her fingers resuming their task of coming through Inuyasha's thick, silver hair. The worry lines on his face smoothed themselves away and he fell once more into a fitful, healing sleep.

Kagome felt a warm, tender smile come to her lips. Yes, there had been a time when she had indulged in the same fantasies about her future as her friends had. She'd wanted it all as well: the loving, handsome husband and the big house. She'd even spent a few daydreams imagining the beautiful silk dresses she might wear, if she were to marry a lawyer, or a doctor or some such.

But that had been before she'd fallen through the Bone-Eater's Well; before she'd met Inuyasha and accidentally shattered the Shikon no Tama. Her time in the feudal era had matured her far beyond her years and she'd come to realize something important.

She didn't need a husband who could buy her everything she wanted and who would shower her with gifts. She had a handsome and brave half-demon who would risk his life to protect her and who believed her capable enough to achieve her own goals. And though Kaede's hut was a far cry from a mansion, it was all she could ask for, because she shared it with Inuyasha who would, no doubt, be back to his old and grumpy self in the morning.

And who needed silk anyways? She had something far, far better. She had Inuyasha's silvery hair to run her fingers through and his adorable dog-ears to tease.

What fantasy could possibly hold up to this reality?


	65. Chapter 65: Shiori

**Crossing the Line**

Her grandfather had come to think of Shiori as passive. Taigokumaru had wrapped her up in his threats and lies so tightly, that she'd barely been able to take a breath without him knowing about it. He had the upper hand in every way; the bat demons outnumbered the humans by far and it was more than in his power to kill every last human in the village; including her mother. And the villagers were so afraid of the bat demons that they would kill anything that could possibly provoke another wave of attacks. Or anyone. So again, her mother was at risk and the only way Shiori could keep her safe was by staying with her grandfather and doing as he bid. And Taigokumaru knew it.

But then Taigokumaru made a mistake.

He'd had Shiori under his thumb for so long, that he had forgotten the reason why he had wanted his granddaughter in the first place. It wasn't just because she was the designated guardian of the barrier. It was because, in her own right, Shiori was powerful. But since she was unaware of her heritage and her inherent power, Shiori did not know how to use her abilities. She was only aware of being able to protect the barrier, nothing more. So Taigokumaru forgot about Shiori's potential abilities.

And then he crossed the line.

It seemed that with the truth revealed, Shiori found her strength. The villagers hated her because she was a half-demon; because her mother had fallen in love and been loved by a demon. A bat demon: the son of Taigokumaru. And the reason why her father had never come back to protect her and her mother, was because Taigokumaru had killed him.

With the truth came understanding and with understanding came outrage and love and the simple knowledge that she didn't have to be passive or frightened. She could act; the barrier gave her that power. She could act and she could defend…and she could even kill by the simple expedient of denying someone the protection of the barrier _she _controlled.

With a previously unknown power cloaking her like flames, Shiori turned towards her grandfather, her eyes blazing with light.

"Get out."

And it was as simple as that. Without her to protect him, Taigokumaru fell to Inuyasha's blade and Shiori was free. Free and once more in the arms of her mother, where she belonged.


	66. Chapter 66: Kagome & Shippo

**Foxfire**

"What are you doing there, Shippo?"

The little fox demon looked up from the small pile of twigs to see Kagome crouched next to him; her face curious and encouragingly open, inviting him to confide in her. Despite that, Shippo found himself looking down at his paws, his face flushing a little in embarrassment. He mumbled a quick answer to her query.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch that. You're doing what?" Kagome asked.

"I'm practicing my foxfire," Shippo said, more clearly this time.

"You are?" The girl blinked at him in surprise, then stared down at the little twigs assembled in a half-hazard mount at Shippo's feet. There were definite signs of charring, but all of it _around _the twigs.

"I see," the girl said slowly, loathe to risk potentially hurting the young demon's feelings but…"Shouldn't you be trying to _light _the twigs, instead of the ground around it."

"No," Shippo said sullenly, digging one of his paws into the dirt. Then he sighed. "At least, I'm not trying to. I…" Shippo looked up at her, his green eyes wide and solemn. "I'm trying to learn how to use the foxfire to protect people, like my father did with his pelt."

Kagome felt her own eyes go wide with astonishment. "You can do that?" So far, she'd only seen Shippo use the foxfire as a weapon and the occasional means of playing a prank on Inuyasha.

Shippo nodded, then shook his head and then sighed again. "Well, I'm supposed to. But I…" his tail twitched in agitation, "I never really learned how. My father didn't have the chance to teach and me now…"

"Now you're trying to figure it out for yourself," Kagome concluded, sparing the young fox demon the pain of finishing that sentence. Shippo nodded, his chin down and his eyes once more studying the ground.

Kagome smiled, ruffling his orange hair. "I bet your father would be real proud of you right now, trying this."

Shippo's eyes met hers hopefully. "You think so?"

"I know so."

"Would you…" he fiddled with the edge of his vest. "Would you like to watch?"

Kagome could hear a world of hope behind those words and her smile softened. "I'd love to," she told Shippo and settled herself down more comfortably.

"Okay then, here we go." Shippo puffed up his chest in pride, taking up his battle-stance. But just before he called the flickering blue flames of the foxfire to his hand, he cast another quick glance at the expectantly watching Kagome. "Don't tell Inuyasha about this," he pleaded. "Okay, Kagome?"

Kagome nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, Shippo. Not a word to Inuyasha."

"Not unless this works, anyway." Shippo muttered under his breath as he gathered the fire to his hand. "Wait till dog boy sees I can protect you better than he can. Foxfire!"


	67. Chapter 67: Shizu

**Truth**

By allowing her daughter to live in the belief that she was human, Shizu had in all honesty acted not out of shame, but out of a simple desire to secure some happiness for Shiori. She had thought that, by hiding the truth, her daughter might escape the abuse and discrimination heaped upon half-demon children.

But as she held her little girl – face cut and bleeding, clothes torn and dirty – Shizu realized that her efforts had been in vain. Indeed, by hiding the truth from Shiori about her father, she had actually caused greater damage. Her daughter was so _confused. _

Shiori believed that she was human, the same as Shizu and all the other villagers. She couldn't understand why the villagers treated her so badly, why they downright hated her. As Shiori cried against her mother's shoulder, Shizu contemplated telling her about her father, telling her everything, the whole truth. It would at least alleviate the girl's confusion about the villagers' treatment. But would the truth bring any healing at this point?

Shizu didn't know. She'd been denying the truth for so long, she wasn't entirely sure of its consequences anymore.

She stroked her daughter's silver hair, listening as the little girl in her arms slowly began to cry herself to sleep. And listening to Shiori's heartbeat, Shizu did know one thing, one undeniable truth. She loved her daughter and she wanted what was best for her. She wanted Shiori to live a life where she would not be beaten or abused by those around her. She wanted Shiori to be protected, kept safe and not hunted. And this truth led Shizu to another. She, Shizu, was not capable of providing that security for Shiori. She could not stand up to the villagers – hadn't she tried often enough in the past to know?

But there was someone who could keep Shiori safe. After all, her daughter had _other _family as well. Shiori was a child of two worlds, so if one world would not accept her, then maybe the other would?

That night, Shizu stayed without sleep; remaining awake to listen to the waves outside of her hut. She thought long and she thought hard about her daughter and her future. There were other options, other paths she could take, but she found that one night was not enough for her to reach a decision. But she did come to one conclusion; or rather, she came to another truth. Whatever Shizu decided on, it would hurt.


	68. Chapter 68: Inuyasha

**Tried and True**

Since he had retrieved his father's fang, Inuyasha had come to rely on the Tessaiga's powers. It was a good sword and had stood him in good service in many a fight. More than once, it had been the Tessaiga's powers that had helped Inuyasha save the day.

And as the air shook with the bear demon's roar, Inuyasha's hand automatically fell to the Tessaiga's hilt. Seeing the move, his friends jumped clear of the blast zone. They all knew and respected the sword's range.

The bear demon did not. Too bad. For it.

Seeing a clear path to his potential next victim, the bear demon raced towards Inuyasha, powerful claws extending for a killing blow. Inuyasha tensed, then let his hand fall away from the Tessaiga, a smirk coming to his lips.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" Miroku called out to him.

"Whatcha think, monk?" Inuyasha called back and he raised his own claws at the charging demon. "I'm gonna take care of this stupid bear." And he wouldn't need the Tessaiga for it.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" With a shout and a flash of his claws, Inuyasha cut the bear demon into ribbons. The thing didn't even have the chance to give another dying roar.

"Keh." Inuyasha wiped his hair back from his face and cracked his knuckles in satisfaction, as his friends came to crowd around him, congratulating him on his kill. Inuyasha grinned at them, one hand coming to rest automatically on his sword. Yes, the Tessaiga was a grand weapon, but sometimes, there was no substitute for the tried and true methods.


	69. Chapter 69: Haori

**March**

There was a resounding knock on the door to her home. Haori grumbled, turning onto her side and determining to ignore the knock and going back to sleep. She was an old woman after all and the elderly had a right to their sleep.

But the knocker persisted. In fact, he renewed his efforts with such force that Haori feared he would bring her entire hut down around her ears. With more grumbling Haori threw off her blanket and grabbing her staff, she made her way to the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she called out grumpily and not hiding the fact. If the knocker wanted her to be in a good mood, then he should have come calling in a more civilized manner and at a more civilized hour.

When she drew back the curtain covering the entrance to her home, she was nearly bowled over by a young man in farmer's clothing.

"The Madame Exorcist! I'm looking for the Madame Exorcist!"

Haori groaned. Not another one. "I'm the exorcist," she told the young man unhappily.

The farmer stared at her in disbelief, then mounting despair. "B-bu-but you're an old woman," he cried.

She conked him a good one on the head with her staff for his insolence. "Of course I'm an old woman," she told him testily. "That's why I'm retired."

The farmer was vigorously rubbing his head with both hands, looking up at her pleadingly. "But I need an exorcist right now. My village is in grave danger. A weasel demon has been haunting us for many days now. Can't you come?" He asked hopefully. "Please. I would not ask if it were not of the utmost urgency."

Haori sighed. She shouldn't be doing this. She was old and tired, neither a good condition for an exorcist. It was why she had chosen to retire in the first place. But glancing at the young man's pitiful face, she felt some of her old spirit and sense of duty flaming back to life. He wasn't the first one to have come calling lately and she had a sense that he would not be the last. If she read the signs correctly, then demons were on the rise and it seemed that there were no longer enough of her kind about to help. Every hand was needed.

"Give me a few minutes to gather my things," she told the farmer. His face brightened and he began bowing profusely.

"Thank you, oh thank you, Madame Exorcist."

Haori conked him on the head again with her staff, the many bells jingling. "Stop that," she told him sharply and turned back into her hut to get her things. It would seem retirement would have to wait. She was on the march once again.


	70. Chapter 70: Sesshoumaru

**How Could You?**

There was not much that could pierce the ironclad control Sesshoumaru had over his emotions. He had long since learned to ignore pleas, taunts, insults, compliments and bribes, particularly during a battle. They were nothing more than words and dangerous distractions.

But the revelation that the Tensaiga – the sword his father had specifically bequeathed to him, his eldest son – was nothing more than an imperfection, a cast off from the more powerful Tessaiga? It shook him to the core. And it opened a wound inside of him that Sesshoumaru had thought healed and forgotten.

_A cast off, father? Was that all I was worth to you? _He had come to accept that the Tensaiga could not slay, but still contained great powers that could prove useful to him on occasion. In that way, Sesshoumaru had thought his father had been trying to teach him a lesson, to recognize his regard for others. A lesson that was also a show of respect and affection from father to son.

And now this…this blow from a former foe of his father's. _Father, how could you? _

And with that question to haunt his mind and Shishinki's taunts in the air, Sesshoumaru found his control slipping further. And he found rage; rage at his opponent for daring to presume him weaker than his sire. But also an old rage; the rage of a son who had never understood how his father could love the younger, less perfect son better than his firstborn.

With a snarl, Sesshoumaru launched himself at Shishinki and drove his claws into the demon's face, replicating the disfigurement his father had inflicted on Shishinki's face decades prior. And he did so without the sword that was his inheritance from his father.

_The sword might be a cast off, _he thought with a satisfaction that did not show on his face. _But I am not. _And Shishinki was about to learn that, for Sesshoumaru was not yet finished with the demon.


	71. Chapter 71: Kaede

**Ungodly Hour**

Something Kaede had learned all too quickly was that disasters had the tendency of occurring at the most inconvenient moment for the people designated to fight said disasters; during an illness, say or when one was already in the midst of another disaster. Or, in this case, in the middle of the night, when honest people were wrapped securely in blankets and sleep.

Kaede awoke with a start as the sound of falling trees reverberated through the night air along with an aura of evil. She threw the blankets away from her and aching fingers grasped automatically for her bow. Her body was no longer able to respond as well and as quickly as it used to, but her mind was still sharp. There was evil afoot at this ungodly hour of the night and she would be needed to face it. But she would also need the help of the village men.

The fight, much to her chagrin, did not go well. The demon's power proved too much for her and the village men. Mere minutes into the fight, Kaede could already feel her arms shaking from the strain of drawing her bow and despite her best efforts, some of the men were injured.

And then in a blinding flash of power from the demon it was over. Outraged, but injured and helpless, Kaede was forced to watch as Urasue flew off in a wash of blue flame. And she took her sister's ashes with her.

Feeling the blood from her wounds flow over her skin, Kaede was left to stand at what remained of Kikyo's shrine. She felt old grief and newer loss come over her. She had failed to protect what had remained of her elder sister; letting her ashes fall into the hands of a demon.

Staring down at the disturbed grave with her one eye, Kaede had to recall one of her earlier thoughts, when she'd first felt the approach of the demonic aura. This was an ungodly hour indeed.


	72. Chapter 72: Rin & Sesshoumaru

**Soaked**

The human girl was back again.

Sesshoumaru was well aware of her presence, though he hadn't opened his eyes for the past hour. He did not need to. He could smell her; he could hear her. He did not need to see her. He did not want to see her. So he simply refused to acknowledge her existence.

But she did not go away.

In the past, he would have removed such a minor irritation with a mere flick of his claws and never thought about it again. But at this moment, Sesshoumaru did not believe it to be the best usage of his time to kill some insignificant human child, no matter how annoying. The seconds it would take to kill her would take away from his contemplation about his fight with his lowly half-brother. A fight he had lost and at the cost of his arm.

It was inconceivable, this outcome. Inuyasha was a mere half-breed, not worthy of even his brother's recognition. And yet, that filthy, lowly half-breed had bested him. And had claimed the Tessaiga in the process. Sesshoumaru would have to go over every last detail of the fight, so that he could deduce where he had erred. Because, as much as it pained him to admit it, he had...miscalculated. Somehow. Somewhere. And he would spend the time he would need to recuperate from his wounds to identify his mistake and rectify it. He, Sesshoumaru, very rarely made a mistake. But if he did, he never committed the same mistake twice.

So he ignored the child's continued presence, ignored her meager and ridiculous offerings and concentrated on analyzing his humiliating defeat at the hands of Inuyasha. Until such a time when his wounds had healed. And then he would find the miserable half-breed and kill him and he would reclaim the legendary fang, Tessaiga. Claim it as his own as it rightfully should have been and then…

Cold water washed over his face and head, soaking his upper torso thoroughly. Sesshoumaru opened his eyes to find the human girl standing before him, the bucket with which she'd carried the water still in her hands.

She blinked at him wide-eyed, clearly surprised to have gotten any response from him at all. It would seem that, in the face of him willfully ignoring her, the little girl had decided to test if he were still alive at all. Either that or she'd come to the erroneous conclusion that her self-proclaimed task of nursing him to health included bathing him. Either way, he should kill her for this insult.

Water dripped from his aristocratic nose, the only movement in the little clearing.

Then, quite clearly, he said to her, "Go away."

The little girl blinked, blinked again, then clapped her hands together in delight, clearly overjoyed that he was either not dead, or now thoroughly clean.

Sesshoumaru did not care either way. Closing his eyes again, he resumed his mental efforts. He decided not to kill the girl. Again, it would be an effort that would take away from his real task. She was not worth his time.


	73. Chapter 73: Sota

**Midnight Snack**

Sota wanted nothing more than a quick midnight snack, so he didn't bother to turn on the lights. He could find his way from his bedroom to the kitchen while half-asleep and with his eyes closed – which he often did, when he had to get up for school after staying up late to play videogames.

It was easy, really. Just count the steps of the stairs to the landing, then take six steps down the hallway, then turn right and voila: the kitchen. Who needed light for that? And he didn't have to worry about junk littering either the steps or the hallway. His mother was a fastidious cleaner and no matter how messy it got over the day, by the time everyone went to bed, the house was neat and orderly again.

So he made his way down the stairs without difficulty, but when his bare feet touched the hallway floor, he froze. Sota cocked his head, listening. Had he heard something? He thought he had. It sounded like a rustle. Sota stood there for a few seconds longer, one foot on the stairs, the other on the floor, listening. Finally, with a shrug, he decided he must have heard the leaves from the trees outside.

With the muted patter of bare feet against the floor, Sota made his way into the kitchen. He had a craving for a sandwich.

His head was mostly stuck in the fridge, his hands busy rummaging around its contents, when he heard it again. A rustling coming from outside. And this time, there was a scraping and thunking sound as well. The noises were small, almost unnoticeable, but in a dark house, with most of its inhabitants asleep, even the tiniest of sounds tended to echo.

Sota's head shot up in alarm. He'd dismissed the sound earlier easily enough, but he found it harder to do so this time. Now that his eyes had grown adjusted to the refrigerator's light, the shadows surrounding him appeared all that much deeper. And way more creepy.

Sota froze like a deer caught in headlights, his mind suddenly fixated on some of those stories his sister had told him about the feudal era. Like how a lot of human-eating demons preferred to hunt in the night. Or how bandits would surround a target, while it was sleeping and unawares.

_Don't be such a baby, _a part of his mind scolded him; the part of him that was slowly reaching adulthood. The other part, the one that was still a little boy, insisted that a mad dash up the stairs and a flying leap into his bed would be a pretty good idea right about now.

What stopped him was the thought that his idol, Inuyasha, would never run from something as mundane as a creepy sound in the night. No, Inuyasha would go out there and investigate and then bash whatever was making the noise.

Taking heart from the idea, Sota swallowed hard, then crept slowly into the living room. Pressing his back against the wall next to the window, feeling sweat popping out along his brow, Sota's hand slowly reached for the light switch.

Taking a deep breath he flipped the switch and as light blazed through the living room he whirled to face the window, staring at the outside…to look into startled, golden eyes.

With a yelp of surprise and pain, Inuyasha brought the sleeve of his haori up to protect his sensitive eyes, stumbling backwards from the light. In his haste to get away, he tripped over a tree root and fell down heavily, cursing profusely.

Blinking in astonishment, Sota stared at his half-blinded idol, then looked up towards the tree Inuyasha had been climbing down from. The tree that was next to his sister's window.

Fright forgotten, Sota began to grin wickedly. Wait till Kagome found out. He could blackmail her for all eternity. Or until she got around to wringing his neck.


	74. Chapter 74: Miroku & Inuyasha

**Market**

Inuyasha stood behind Miroku sullenly, hands tucked into the sleeves of his haori, his ears twitching in every direction. He was trying to be patient while the monk bargained for some fresh supplies, but the hanyou was starting to become restless.

He'd never liked crowds – probably never would – and this market was a particularly popular one, so people were everywhere. The smells in this place were intense, humans kept jostling against him and they _wouldn't stop whispering. _

"Do you see him?"

"Those ears."

"Has to be a demon."

"But he looks so human."

"Hanyou."

That last word was spoken with such venom that Inuyasha felt his hackles rise in response. This was why he hated being in crowded places. Worse than the smells and the noise were the constant stares and the hateful, mistrustful words muttered behind his back. If only those cowards had the guts to say those things to his face, then he would show them.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked. "Is everything alright?"

Inuyasha glanced at the other man. Miroku had apparently finished his bargaining and now lifted the pack with their supplies over one shoulder. The monk's violet eyes were looking back at him worriedly.

"I'm fine, monk," Inuyasha snapped back with more irritation than he'd meant.

Miroku raised a disbelieving eyebrow in response. "Really? Then why are you growling?"

Inuyasha bit his lip, cutting off the rumbling sounds coming from his throat. He had been growling, damnit.

"It's nothing."

"I doubt that," Miroku retorted. His face had taken on a serious cast and Inuyasha knew his friend wouldn't let this drop.

"Don't you hear them?" Inuyasha finally hissed at him.

Miroku looked honestly surprised. "Hear them?" he repeated, then cast his eyes around them, taking in the teeming market and the people, who were unabashedly staring at the half-demon, with varying expressions of fright, disgust and hostility.

"Ah," the monk said, with dawning realization. "Actually, I didn't." He hefted his staff and the pack and made his way out of the market, taking a direct path through the milling crowd, Inuyasha following close behind.

"But then," Miroku continued, loud enough for the people around them to hear, "I don't make it a habit of paying attention to offal."

Inuyasha gaped at the monk's back, then laughed – loud and heartily.


	75. Chapter 75: Inu no Taisho

**Blink**

For Inu no Taisho, the time he spent with his human princess was torturous in that he knew it would be over far too quickly.

He was a demon and nearly immortal, so days flew past him like leaves on the wind and seasons were nothing more than the time in-between his heartbeats.

Izayoi was there one moment and Inu no Taisho knew that she would be gone the next and if he blinked or dared to look away, he would miss her life entirely.

His immortality had never bothered him before. It was simply a part of his existence; another sign of the superiority of his kind when compared to the other creatures that walked this earth. It was what brought him one step closer to the gods and one step further from the humans who toiled away their days in fields or spent them in flimsy palaces, where they believed themselves to be emperors and rulers.

But now that he had met Izayoi, Inu no Taisho felt his immortality to be a burden, a pressure placed on their relationship. Another obstacle that would bar their way to future happiness.

And then Izayoi told him that she carried his child and Inu no Taisho felt himself blink in surprise, his heart skipping a beat…and she was still there and so was his son. It was as if, for no more than a few precious moments, time itself had decided to halt its inexorable flow.

A son. A piece of himself and of her. A child who would endure when his mother was no longer among the living.

His clawed hand gently caressed her belly. A son, who would be a living embodiment of their love and a piece of Izayoi that would not be gone in the blink of an eye.


	76. Chapter 76: Miroku

**Falling Out**

Miroku was ready to leave and as was his habit, he turned towards the first available, beautiful woman and asked, "Koharu, would you consider having my children?"

It was such an ingrained habit by this point, that the words just fell out automatically, without him having to consciously think about it; his mouth just uttered them all on their own. Which was why it took his mind a few moments to catch up to the fact that the woman he was talking to was in fact an eleven-year-old girl.

"Oh, I…well, I…" Koharu stared down at her hands, which still held the rice he had given her, her brown eyes huge in her small face.

Miroku felt a little laugh of embarrassment come to his lips. Goodness, that had been silly of him. Rubbing the back of his head ruefully he said, "Ah, I do apologize, Koharu. I wasn't…"

"I'll do it."

"Huh?"

"I will have your children, Miroku," the girl proclaimed proudly.

"You'll….?" Now Miroku was truly thunderstruck. He'd never actually gotten a positive reply before. "That is…very kind of you, Koharu," he said carefully, trying to let the girl down gently. She was truly sweet and he did like her, but she was a child and a very innocent one at that. "However, I have a mission to accomplish and no way of knowing when it might end. It would be terribly cruel of me to leave you in a…" he groped for the appropriate term, "vulnerable position. I must therefore ask you to forget about me and my request."

"Don't worry, Miroku," Koharu said and took one of his hands in hers. "I'll wait for you and when you return to me, I will have your children. I promise."

Somehow, Miroku managed to wriggle out of the worst of it and brought Koharu safely back to the oil maker who had taken her in. It took more sweet words and promises of friendship to keep the little girl from crying as he left, but at least she did not mention his slip of the tongue and her promise out loud again.

With a last backwards glance and a wave of goodbye, Miroku managed his escape. Really, she was a very sweet girl, but…Miroku gave a small laugh and shook his head at himself. Truly, the things people said when they weren't paying attention to their words.

Hopefully, his little gaffe wouldn't come back to haunt him in the future.


	77. Chapter 77: Jaken & Rin

**Making Fire**

Rin swung the Staff of Two Heads, pointing the face of the old man at a pile of wood.

"Fire," she ordered the staff. "Make fire."

"Rin!" Jaken squawked in outrage at the sight of her handling his weapon, dropping the mushrooms he'd collected in the process. Racing over to the little human, he wrenched the staff out of her hands, shaking it in her face in his anger.

"You insolent girl," he scolded. "How dare you touch the Staff of Two Heads? This is a powerful demon weapon, entrusted to me by our Lord Sesshoumaru and not a plaything for silly human girls."

Rin blinked at him, astonished at the little demon's outburst. "But Master Jaken," she said. "You use it all the time for your own amusement. Just yesterday, you cracked acorns with it."

Jaken felt sweat begin to bead his brow and he hastily glanced around their campsite in case Lord Sesshoumaru was anywhere near enough to hear her. But the only other creature about was Ah-Un, who was looking on with interest.

"What I do with the staff is my own business," Jaken retorted, puffing his chest up to appear a bit more imposing. "I am its keeper and know best on how to use its powers." Then anger returned and he began waving the staff at her again. "What were you trying to do with it anyway, you useless girl?"

"I was trying to make a fire," Rin said innocently, then pointed at the wood she'd collected for that purpose. "The wood is too wet for me to start, but I thought the staff would work." She sighed a little in disappointment. "But the staff doesn't work."

"Of course it works, you silly thing," Jaken countered. "It works just fine, but not for some _insignificant human. _You have to be a powerful demon like myself to command the Staff of Two Heads," he declared proudly.

"Well, then, Master Jaken, can you light my fire?" Rin asked politely.

"Light…your….?" Jaken stared at her, incredulous, then flushed with anger and burst out into another tirade. "No, I will not start your stupid fire, Rin! I am not your servant and the staff is not a torch! You have no respect at all for powerful and important…"

"Then maybe," Rin interjected, utterly unfazed by the harangue, "Lord Sesshoumaru will light my fire for me. He is the most powerful demon in the world, after all."

Jaken stopped mid-tirade, his eyes beginning to bulge as he imagined his lord's reaction to Rin's request. Lord Sesshoumaru would no doubt be displeased to be accosted in such a way and would surely take his annoyance out on him; his most loyal servant. Jaken foresaw for himself a miserable future of lordly boots to his back and rocks thrown at his head, courtesy of his lord's impeccable aim.

"Step aside, girl," Jaken said, nearly pushing Rin away from the wood. Pointing the head of the old man at the firewood, Jaken commanded the staff to emit a controlled burst of flame, just enough to get the wet wood going.

There was a crackle and snap, then smoke began to rise and soon the wood was burning merrily, albeit with a bit more smoke than usual.

Rin clapped her hands together in delight and before Jaken could stop her, she captured the imp in an enthusiastic hug.

"Wonderful, Master Jaken," Rin exclaimed. "You truly are a powerful demon."

Trapped in-between Rin's thin arms, Jaken beamed with pride and patronizingly patted one of the girl's arms.

"Of course," he said. "Too right."


	78. Chapter 78: Inuyasha

**Hideout**

Inuyasha stumbled and nearly fell to the forest floor. Panting, trying to alleviate the stitch in his side, the young hanyou's ears flicked about frantically in an attempt to locate his pursuers.

Had they given up or were they….

"Over here!" Someone called.

Inuyasha flinched.

"I see footprints!" Another man shouted.

Inuyasha looked down at his bare feet, lifting them to see that they'd left definite imprints in the wet ground. He whimpered, the sound coming out thin and high.

His ears rotated as far back as they could as the men took up their chase again, breaking twigs and pounding the ground in their eagerness to get at him. The lord of the castle had wasted little time in ordering his men at arms to chase the young hanyou off of his lands after his mother, the Lady Izayoi, had finally passed away.

Inuyasha sniffled at the memory of his mother, but found that he had no time for tears. The men were getting closer and he needed to keep running.

He tried, but found that he was at the end of his stamina. His knees felt weak and that stitch had become a searing pain that worked itself all through his left side.

Pushing aside bushes, gasping for breath, Inuyasha didn't see the tree root sticking out of the forest floor. With a yelp, the hanyou tripped and fell flat on his face, scraping the palms of his hands as he tried to catch himself.

A sob racked his little body. The men were still coming and they were catching up.

It wasn't fair. Why did his mother have to die? Why did the rest of his family hate him so much? Why did he have to be born hanyou? And why, why, did he have to fall over?

In a sudden flash of temper, Inuyasha rolled onto his back and gave the offending tree root a savage kick. The sturdy root creaked from the impact and a small shower of leaves fell onto Inuyasha's head.

Surprised, the hanyou looked up. The tree the root belonged to was a maple, well over thirty feet tall and gnarled with age. In the gathering darkness, Inuyasha could not clearly see the top of the tree; so dense was its foliage.

More crashing and shouting coming from behind him. The men at arms were still looking for him. Inuyasha flinched back, scouting the area about him, trying to decide which way would be best to run. Except, he wasn't sure he could make it much farther. He was so tired.

The wind rustled through leaves and Inuyasha glanced up at the maple again. The leaves did look very dense.

With a look of determination and slight desperation, Inuyasha crouched and then leaped for the nearest branch. He grabbed the branch, momentarily scrabbled for purchase and then hauled himself up.

As quickly as he could he climbed the maple, finally coming to rest on a forked branch that was situated about as high up as he dared to go, while still being sure that the branches would be able to carry his weight.

He tucked himself against the tree's trunk and went very still, his hands coming up to cover his nose and mouth in an attempt to muffle his breathing. There was nothing he could do about his pounding heart.

It didn't take long for the men at arms to come into sight. About ten of them, they crashed through the underbrush, staffs and spears brandished. They looked about them and searched the ground for his tracks.

One of them, their leader, knelt, carefully inspecting the place where Inuyasha had fallen.

Inuyasha didn't dare to even breathe.

The man muttered curses beneath his breath, looked about him and then, much to the boy's horror, looked straight up.

The seconds in which the man's eyes scanned the surrounding treetops felt like an eternity to Inuyasha. But finally, the man lowered his gaze and fixed his eyes back on the ground. The maple's leaves had proven too dense for him to penetrate.

The men at arms moved on soon after that. Still cursing, they headed deeper into the woods.

Inuyasha let out a relieved breath, nearly fainting against the maple's trunk. One small, clawed hand came up to pat the tree. "Thank you," the boy whispered.

Exhaustion washed over him then and his eyes began to droop. Soon, the little hanyou was fast asleep and he spent his first night in a tree, nestled against the trunk, secure in the knowledge that his new hideout would keep him safe.


	79. Chapter 79: Kaede & Kikyo

**Author's Note:** This drabble is due to **AM78, **who gave me the idea. Thanks a bundle.

* * *

**Nearly**

"Very good, Kaede," Kikyo said approvingly. "You nearly hit the target that time."

Kikyo's face, as she gazed upon the arrow stuck in the ground next to the wooden target, was calm and quietly encouraging.

In stark contrast, Kaede's face was flushed with anger and frustration and the younger girl was just about ready to cry.

She clutched the bow in her hands with enough force to make the wood creak, trying to keep her composure. She didn't want to cry, not again. She'd done enough of that, since losing her eye.

Kaede won the battle against her tears, but not the one for her temper. A single look at the target – and all the arrows scattered about it – was enough to elicit a short scream of aggravation from her. Throwing the bow to the ground, she turned on her sister.

"I can't do this! I'm never going to be able to do this! It's useless, why can't you see that?"

The irony of her words didn't escape Kaede. After all, _Kikyo_ still had both of her eyes. _Kikyo _didn't falter when performing the most basic of tasks.

"Kaede," there was a mild reprimand in Kikyo's tone now. Her sister had been incredibly patient with her so far, but even Kikyo had her limits and helping Kaede relearn to draw and aim her bow had been a struggle for both of them.

"Control yourself," Kikyo said. "This is not behavior becoming of a future miko."

"How am I ever going to be a miko," Kaede retorted sharply, "if I can't hit the broadside of a barn with an arrow?" She gestured despondently at her failed attempts.

Once, she'd actually been a pretty good shot. Not excellent, like her sister, but a good archer in her own right. However, with the loss of her right eye, Kaede was not only struggling with her shifted depth perception, but also with the fact that everything on her right side was dark. Kaede shot with her right hand and without her right eye, she could no longer adequately judge distances or even visualize the target.

The crushing disappointments and failures caused her shoulders to slump and Kaede hung her head in shame and misery as all the anger fled out of her, to be replaced by despondency.

Why was she even bothering. It was clear that she would never regain her old skills and without a weapon, how could she ever be a miko? Her spiritual powers were modest at best. She'd never be able to defend herself, let alone a whole village, without a weapon to help her focus.

She might as well give up her dream of being a miko and settle into the life of an ordinary village girl, marry and work in the fields. The only problem with that was, that Kaede knew very well that with her newly scarred appearance, there'd be no man in the area who'd ever want her as a wife. Already, people looked down on her with pity or disgust and the heavy bandages she still wore obscured most of the damage. How much worse would it be when the bandages were removed?

A cool hand cupped one of her cheeks. Looking up, Kaede saw Kikyo peering down at her, her beautiful face set with concern.

"Kaede," her sister said warmly, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to sound patronizing. I can't begin to imagine how frustrating this must be for you." Then strong arms closed about Kaede, drawing her against her sister's lithe form.

Kaede resisted at first, still steeped in resentment, but Kikyo's familiar and beloved presence softened the girl, until she buried her head against her sister's shoulder.

"But I do have faith in you, Kaede," Kikyo continued. "I know that you will overcome this obstacle. Just try to give it a little more time."

Kaede sighed. Kikyo was probably right; she usually was. Right now, Kaede was feeling sorry for herself and that was stupid of her. She should be concentrating on getting back to her duties as soon as possible, so that she could go back to helping Kikyo. Her sister needed her.

Kaede turned her head towards the target, remembering to turn her head further than she would have with two eyes. She eyed the target and the errand arrows with distaste.

"I understand," she said slowly, still feeling sullen. "But can we try again tomorrow?" She truly didn't feel like picking up that bow again.

Kikyo gave a sigh and let her go. "Alright, we'll start again tomorrow." She held out a hand to Kaede. "Come now, Kaede, it is nearly time for dinner anyways."

Kaede grasped her sister's fingers, feeling pleased that she had done so without fumbling first. Maybe she was getting back to her old self. Not yet, but nearly.


	80. Chapter 80: Kagome & Inuyasha

**Heat Wave**

"I honestly don't understand you, Inuyasha," Kagome said, fanning herself lightly.

Inuyasha looked over to where Kagome was sitting under the Goshinboku, her head propped on one hand, her book lying forgotten in her lap.

"Understand about what?" the half-demon asked.

"You," she said, then gestured at Buyo. "And him."

Inuyasha glanced down at the fat cat, who was lying contentedly on his belly, while Inuyasha rubbed his ears.

"Keh, what's there to understand? I thought you wanted us to get along?"

"I do," Kagome protested, shifting a little so that she was more in the Goshinboku's shade. With the current heat wave, it'd been too warm to stay in her room for studying and outside she could at least enjoy the slight breeze. Inuyasha, who'd followed her when she'd gone through the well back to her own time, had decided to join her. Though the hanyou could withstand far more extreme temperatures, even he preferred to be outside in this weather, rather than inside the stuffy house.

"But I always thought," she went on, "that cats and dogs were mortal enemies."

Inuyasha snorted and Buyo gave a lazy meow. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Well, everyone says so," she defended. "Besides, it makes more sense than your feud with Koga."

At the mention of the wolf demon's name, Inuyasha bristled visibly.

"What's the mangy wolf got to do with anything?"

"Well, dogs and wolves are related after all. Wolves are the dog's wild ancestors; I learned that in my biology class. Dogs and cats, on the other hand, don't really have anything in common."

This explanation seemed to enrage the hanyou even further. "The wolf and I aren't related at all. If anything, my family's a lot older than his pack. And we've got _nothing _in common. He lives in a _cave, _surrounded by flea-bitten, half-witted relatives, who spend their days licking…."

"And Buyo," Kagome interrupted smoothly, "likes to spend his time in the sunshine and in trees, getting his ears rubbed and being fed." She hid a quick smile behind one hand. "You're right, Inuyasha. You and Buyo have more in common than with Koga."

Both cat and hanyou turned to stare at her simultaneously, ears pricked upwards and in her direction. The image was too much.

Kagome started giggling and then laughing, the sweat rolling down her cheeks in her continued exertions.

Buyo swatted impatiently at Inuyasha, displeased at having the hanyou's attention waver from him. With a shake of his head, Inuyasha turned back to the cat, once more rubbing the feline's ears. "Think the heat finally cooked her brain," he muttered to the cat, but made sure that the still chortling Kagome could not hear. It was too hot to be sat into the ground.


	81. Chapter 81: Midoriko

**Yearn**

With her final breath, Midoriko imprisoned the soul of the demon Magatsuhi within her own and expelled them both from her body.

It was an act of desperation; the only plan she could come up with as her body bled out and her life slipped away. She was gravely injured and even if she could have freed herself from the demon's jaws, she never would have lived long enough to be found and healed. There could be no future for her.

Did she have regrets?

In her last conscious moments, between inhaling and exhaling under the protest of shattered ribs, Midoriko found that she did. She regretted that she would die alone, here in this cave, literally surrounded by nothing but a demon. Mostly, however, she regretted that the last seven days of her life had been spent in battle, in darkness.

She had never doubted that her life would end in mortal combat. These were brutal times and the demons had developed a specific hatred of her. She had accepted that she would live neither long nor die peacefully.

But in those last precious seconds left to her, Midoriko found herself overcome by a strong yearning for light. She wished that her end could have come in a place where, as her eyes closed for the last time, she could have gazed upon the sun or at the very least the moon.

Instead she was trapped within a cave, in the jaws of a demon and its dark, demonic aura pressed against her as oppressively as the darkness of the cave.

Then she exhaled and her soul, holding within it the soul of Magatsuhi, tore through her chest.

All feeling left her body; her limbs, trapped within Magatsuhi's jaws felt like stone. So heavy; so cold.

As her eyes dimmed, she caught sight of the glittering light of her soul, combating the darkness of the demon. Midoriko's last thought was of how she yearned for more than that tiny speck of light.


	82. Chapter 82: Sango & Miroku

**New Moon**

Miroku gave the woman standing at the edge of the cave mouth a covert glance.

Sango was obviously tense, her hand resting on the Hiraikotsu strapped to her back in preparation for a fight. Her muscles, so clearly outlined by the skintight slayer costume, were taut and her eyes continuously swept the ground ahead of the cave.

"Sango," Miroku said overly cheerful, "you really don't have to stand sentry like that all night. Come," and he patted the ground next to him, "take a rest and sit down. This will be a long night. No need to make it any more difficult."

"I'm fine," was her curt reply. She didn't even turn around to look at him.

Miroku sighed. So far, all of his attempts to try and get Sango to relax, at least a little, had fallen utterly flat. He leaned back until he was propped up against the cave's outer wall, his staff balanced across his crossed legs. The rings jingled slightly with the movement.

"You have nothing to prove," he told her gently.

If possible, Sango went even more rigid at his words.

"I understand that you are trying to prove yourself as part of our group," he went on. "But truly, Sango, there is no need. We are all glad that you are with us and any… misunderstandings there might have been in the past are forgotten."

"How can you say that?" she asked him just as quietly, her back still turned towards him. Miroku guessed she wanted to avoid having him detect any possible vulnerability her face might betray. "I was ready to kill Inuyasha. I was ready to betray all of you to Naraku."

"Because Naraku tricked you," Miroku reminded her. "Believe me, Sango, no one understands your situation better than Inuyasha. He too was a victim of Naraku's deceptions. He doesn't hold you responsible. He blames Naraku, as should you."

"I do blame Naraku," she said harshly. Then, in an almost indistinguishable whisper, she added, "But I blame myself as well."

Miroku heaved another sigh, then rose to his feet and came to stand next to her, his staff held at the ready. Sango looked at him, startled.

"If you are bound and determined to prove yourself to Inuyasha during the night of the new moon, then I will help you," he explained, giving her an encouraging smile. "Far be it from me to allow a beautiful woman such as yourself to shoulder the majority of the burden."

"Miroku." She said his name with more warmth than she'd shown him since sunset and her face softened perceptively.

Miroku returned the gesture with a smile of his own, then nodded towards the night sky. "Besides," he continued, "from here, one can enjoy the sight of the stars far better than from the cave."

She glanced up, a lovely smile coming to grace her lips. "You're right, Miroku. Without the moon, the stars are truly bright tonight."

They stood that way in companionable silence; the slayer and the monk guarding the cave that held their half-demon-turned-human friend, gazing up at the blazing stars overhead every now and then.

* * *

A sudden noise, the explosion of flesh hitting flesh interrupted the night's quietude, startling a grazing deer and several roosting birds into flight.

"_Miroku!" _A female voice shrieked through the forest. _"You lech!" _


	83. Chapter 83: Inu Kimi

**Toy**

There were those among her peers who applauded the elegance of her bearing, the aloofness of her demeanor. She was, after all, the Honorable Lady Mother and former mate of the Inu no Taisho. She was a demon of the highest rank and purest blood and the display of baser emotions would be beneath someone of her aristocratic breeding.

But there were those as well who criticized her bearing towards others, who whispered behind her back that she was not merely cold towards her fellow beings. Coldness implied a certain acknowledgement of the other's existence, of their independency as a sentient being. No, her critics did not accuse her of the same coldness that characterized her son. They faulted her for her playfulness: for treating others, servants and peers, as her toys.

And what was so wrong about that? If she had to bear the responsibility of ruling them, of keeping impatient and greedy lords from tearing apart the land, then did she not deserve to be entertained in return? She sat through hours of boring meetings, listened to petitions and complaints, all because her mate had gotten himself killed over a human princess and her son was too self-involved in his quest for power to come home and take the throne.

To her, it was only right that she amuse herself during these times by coming up with games; games of strategy and mischief, in which the people she spent most of her time surrounded by played the role of game pieces. It was fun. It relieved the tedium of the day. She sowed rumors; she leveled mild accusations, dropped a hint of displeasure there, a word of approval here and watched two parties fight for her favor. Those were the entertainments proper for a lady of her standing.

The one thing that her critics did not understand was that she knew when to stop considering people toys. Her son could be entertaining to manipulate – just a hint of his father's former power and her errant pup could not resist rising to the bait – but she would never set him a task that would truly endanger him. Or hurt him.

So when she asked the little demon about her son's relationship to the human girl, it was not for the purpose of any game. When she gazed upon the face of the dead child, she did not see a toy to be discarded, now that it had stopped being entertaining.

The Lady Mother saw a child who had died before her time and whose death was causing her son great pain. She saw a bond between a human and a demon that she might never understand – and which she did not believe her son understood – but which could not be denied for its strength.

When she called upon the power of the Meido stone, it was not to regain a lost toy. It was to bring back the person Sesshoumaru dared to care about, the person who had taught him the value of life, by the simple expedient of her own fragility and mortality.

There could be times for games later. But there were some things – some people – with whom the Lady Mother would never play with. Her son's heart was one of them.


End file.
